


things aren't always set in stone

by theriverlea



Category: Gossip Girl (TV 2007)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:13:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 79,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25601884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theriverlea/pseuds/theriverlea
Summary: au: dan humphrey is randomly paired with nate archibald to room with in college. nate never seems to be around for the first few weeks until dan walks in on him and his fiancee, blair waldorf. dan's quiet life of studying and skyping with vanessa quickly turns into a life full of more drama than he bargained for
Relationships: Dan Humphrey/Blair Waldorf, Dan Humphrey/Serena van der Woodsen, Nate Archibald/Blair Waldorf, Nate Archibald/Serena van der Woodsen
Comments: 19
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically not a new fic- I want to write more in it and so I want to consolidate it with my other current one (not GG)

Dan Humphrey, freshman at NYU, had seen his roommate, Nate Archibald, a total of four times since move in day and today marked the fifth. It was October 3rd when it happened, and he would probably never forget it, unless maybe he got hit on the head and got amnesia. Dan was stopping by his room between two of his classes to swap out his books, like he normally did on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, and when he opened his door to his room he saw a very unfamiliar sight. Dan's eyes widened as he saw the bare back of a brunette and the legs of his roommate.

Nate looked up as he heard the door open and grabbed the girl's torso, pulling her to him. "Shit, man, I didn't know you would be back this early," Nate said. Dan recognized a sly, prideful grin come over Nate's face as Dan dropped his books on the desk.

The brunette turned around and gave him, what Dan could only describe as, a look full of pure hatred. "Get the fuck out," she snarled, pressing her body to Nate.

Dan shielded his eyes and turned from them, "Look, I'm so sorry. The dorm is just on my way to my next class and both books are super heavy and I always come-"

"Dude, it's okay," Nate said.

Out of a natural response to having a conversation, Dan turned around again and quickly brought his hand up to his eyes. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't see anything." Dan grabbed his other book that he needed off the desk and shoved it into his bag. "I'll just be going, now," Dan said, pointing to the door. "It was great to see you, Nate."

Dan could hear Nate laughing behind him and he waved over his head before leaving the room. He took a deep breath, as he closed it and walked away shell-shocked. He wasn't sure why Nate was there but that didn't fare well for the single room that he had been enjoying for the last few weeks.

* * *

When Dan got back to the room, he paused before entering. Dan hit the door with his knuckles before hearing a muffled, "Come in," from the other side.

He opened the door and saw Nate and the mystery brunette sitting on Nate's bed. Nate has his arm draped casually around the girl and they had Nate's, Dan presumed, lap top in front of them. Dan nodded a greeting to them both, before sitting at his desk and opening his book from earlier. Dan heard footsteps land on the floor and Nate's hand grasp his shoulder.

"I'm sorry about before," Dan said, his cheeks reddening as he turned his head upwards to look at Nate.

Nate shrugged, "Nah, it's not a big deal. I probably should have told you that I'd be here. We should probably swap numbers, actually, being roommates and all."

Dan nodded, grabbing his phone from his back pocket. "Yeah, that would probably be for the best. Maybe we can save ourselves these awkward run ins." Dan rambled off his number to Nate, who then gave Dan his.

"Anyways, let me do some introductions here. Dan, this is my girlfriend-"

"Fiancée," the brunette interrupted, lifting her hand to show Dan, and Nate, the sparkling diamond sitting on her ring finger.

"My fiancée," Nate said, slightly coughing over the word. "Dan, this is my fiancée, Blair Waldorf. Blair, this is my roommate, Dan Humphrey."

Dan gave the girl, thankfully fully clothed, a small wave and then stood up and extended his hand to her. She took it, surprising him with a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you. Sorry about before, again."

"Pleasure, I'm sure," Blair responded, raising an eyebrow in return. Blair looked at her hands, admiring her ring. "Are you from New York, Humphrey?"

"Brooklyn. I'm from just over the bridge."

"I try not to go over that bridge," Blair said, distaste seeping into her words. "Probably why I don't recognize you."

Dan shrugged, "And… and are you from New York?"

"Upper East Side. The only real part of New York," she laughed, placing her hand on Nate's shoulder. "Right, Nate?"

Nate gave her a noncommittal shrug. "Yeah, whatever. It's all the same city."

Dan caught Blair's eye as she glared at the top of Nate's head. "So… will you two be here more often?" he asked, sitting back down at his desk. "I can give you my schedule so whatever happened this afternoon doesn't have to happen again."

"To be honest, Humphrey, the only one who is embarrassed about before is you," Blair replied.

"Blair, be nice," Nate warned her softly. "It looks like that. I was staying at my parent's house, but they want me to get the full college experience and stay at the dorm more often. Maybe just during the week? Blair goes to Columbia-"

"An Ivy," she interrupted.

"Yes, I know it's an Ivy," Dan scoffed. "I was born in Brooklyn, not yesterday." Dan flipped through the pages of the textbook, "Well, I guess I'll just have to get used to having a real roommate and not an invisible one."

"I'm sure we can get it to work, and I'm sure Blair will warm up to you."

"I'm right here, Nate," Blair replied. "You don't need to speak for me."

"Sorry," Nate said and Dan could hear kissing sounds behind his back. Dan, in reply, slipped his headphones into his ears and drowned the two of them out. If the year was going to go anyway like this day, it was going to be a long year.


	2. Chapter 2

"Blair," Dan said, opening the door to see the all familiar face of his roommate's fianceé waiting on Nate's bed. "Nice to see you again."

Blair looked up from the book in her hand, "Wish I could say the same. I was hoping you were Nate."

"And I was hoping my room was empty," Dan shrugged. "Where is Nate, anyways?"

"He said he had class," Blair responded.

Dan didn't respond but instead looked at Nate's schedule that was taped to the wall and noted, to himself and not to Blair, that Nate's schedule had been wide open since noon. So where was he? "Well, I am going to study, then."

"Is that all you do, Humphrey?" Blair asked, throwing a pen at him. Dan caught it and she widened her eyes. "Are you secretly a ninja, Humphrey?"

"No, but my dad forced me into self defense classes when I was younger," Dan responded, placing the pen at her side. He sat down on his bed with a book and leaned against the wall. "I had a rough time when I was in school. I mean, I'm still in school… just younger version of me in school."

Blair rolled her eyes, "I didn't realize I asked for your tragic backstory. I'm sure Brookyln was really rough for you." Blair put on a false sense of empathy in her voice, covering her chest with her hands. "You would hardly know that you went through such rough times."

Dan rolled his eyes, hitting the back of his head against the wall. "You know, you could wait for Nate somewhere else. Maybe even just outside that door," he said, pointing with his highlighter to the door which opened right as he pointed.

Nate came in, sweating slightly and out of breath. "I'm late, I'm so late," he said, going to the bed and giving Blair a kiss. "And I'm gross. I just came running from the library. I had a study session with a group from my psychology class, we have a presentation. Guess who's in my group, Blair? It was picked randomly by the professor, and I didn't even realize that she was in my class."

"I don't know, Nate," Blair said, rolling her eyes and pushing herself off the bed. "Jesus? Although you said she… Lindsay Lohan? Is she currently taking classes?"

"No, Serena."

Dan thought, from his position behind his book, that Blair's face went stark white. He was suddenly intrigued and he placed the book on his chest.

"Serena?" Blair said, leaning back on the bed frame. "Serena Van Der Woodsen? Serena, who dropped off the face of the planet when she went to boarding school, Serena?"

"The very one," Nate said, nodding.

"How very fascinating," Blair said, rolling her eyes. "Can you go shower? We have dinner reservations and I don't want to go with this," she grabbed at Nate's t-shirt with her thumb and index finger.

Dan, personally, did think this was very fascinating especially the juxtaposition of their two reactions. He was no relationship expert but he thought Nate was being a little obtuse that his girlfriend would be excited that this Serena person was back in the picture.

Nate grabbed a towel from the back of the door and turned to his girlfriend, Dan grabbed his book and hid his face behind it, "Do you want to come?"

Dan stifled a gag.

"No," Blair said shortly. "Can you be quick? This room smells of unkept Brooklyn hipsters."

Dan couldn't see her from behind his book but he was positive that she was glaring at him. Hearing the door close, Dan pushed himself to his side and looked at the brunette. "So, who's Serena?"

"You're a little eavesdropper, Humphrey," Blair narrowed her eyes and threw a pillow at him.

"I'm not eavesdropping. What else was I supposed to listen to? My phone is over there and I couldn't read my book over the noise."

Blair hoisted herself back on to Nate's bed and stared at him, before finally starting to talk. "She's just a girl. We used to be friends with her until she went to boarding school and cut us all off. And now, apparently, she's back in New York, coincidentally at the same school as Nate."

Dan didn't want to press his luck, but he felt as though there was more to the story. Maybe he should have been a Criminal Justice major instead of Literature.

* * *

"How was your date?" Dan asked as Nate came back in the room around 11 P.M. They pair of them had left around 5 so Dan was surprised it had taken this long. What did a couple who had been together since Middle School have left to talk about? "Was Blair her usual bright, cheery self?"

Nate chuckled, "Yeah, she's not the warmest at first. I promise, she'll warm up to you eventually, man."

Nate came closer and Dan got a giant whifff of pot on his clothes. "Did you guys smoke up after your date?" Dan raised his eyebrows, "Blair seems like a wine girl and not a weed girl."

Lifting his shirt to his nose, Nate took a smell and Dan noticed the red in his eyes. "No, she's not. I met up with… a friend after." Nate coughed over the word friend and Dan, over the last few weeks, took it to mean that he was nervous about something.

"Oh, got it," Dan said, flicking the light on his bedside table off. He found that guilty people talked more when there was silence then when they had questions.

"It's nothing," Nate said, and Dan could hear him shuffling around in the dark. "I just saw this girl I used to know and we met up."

Dan pulled his bed sheet up to his chin and kept silent.

"It's just this girl, Serena, man," Nate continued on. "We, I don't know, we had this thing before she went to boarding school Sophomore year of high school so when I saw her in class at the beginning of the year… I don't know. You have to see her, man." Nate paused, taking a deep breath, and Dan could hear the squeaks of the mattress as Nate sat on his own bed. "You have to see her. She looks like a literal angel. The complete opposite of Blair. She light and sweet and absolutely fucking gorgeous."

Dan sat up slightly, "Aren't you engaged?"

"Yeah, I know, it's completely fucked up. I don't know what I'm doing."


	3. Chapter 3

"You don't even like Blair," Vanessa, Dan's best friend from Brooklyn, said as she lifted her tea to her lips. Dan and her had a weekly Skype date since Vanessa moved to California to major in film at USC. "Why do you care what Nate does, or doesn't do. It's not like you have this proof that he's cheating on her."

Dan rubbed his brow, "I know. I don't like Blair but I also don't like cheaters. I saw what it did to my dad, Vanessa."

Vanessa laughed, running her hand over her shaved head. "Come on, Dan. They're engaged in college. Do you think either of them thought it was going to last?"

"I think Blair probably did."

"Then she is dumb," Vanessa countered. "Come on, Dan. What do you care about these rich bitches anyways? These are exactly the kind of people who made your life miserable in high school. They deserve whatever is coming to them."

"I see college hasn't changed you at all, Vanessa."

"Bigger place, same people," she responded. "Might be slightly more artistic with my major but you still have the same jokes, bitches, more artistic than the rest people…"

"And you clearly fit in with the more artistic people."

"I am what I am," she said, shrugging. "Come on, Dan. Your life in college can't be defined by Skyping with me on Saturday nights and living through your roommate's weird relationship. Go out. Have some fun. It's college, Dan! You're wasting it."

"I'm not wasting it," Dan argued. "I'm on scholarship, I need to study. This is a study break. Anyways, you're doing the same thing as I am doing. Skyping with me on a Saturday."

"It's 10 PM in New York, Dan, it's only 7 in California. I have plans with friends tonight. What do you have planned for after?"

"Okay… why are you suddenly trying to force me out into the world?"

"Because," she continued, "I don't want you to have the same college experience that you did in high school. Go have fun, Dan. Go live a little. It's Halloween weekend, for God's sake."

* * *

Dan stood in the corner of the cramped dorm room, a warm beer in his hand.

"So, what's your major?" the blonde said, leaning against him. She was wearing angel wings and devil horns, Dan figured she thought that she was being ironic. "You look like a business major, or something important. The girl took the beer from Dan's hand and took a swig. "Do you want to get out of here?" she asked, raising eyebrows.

"I think I'm okay," Dan said, taking his beer back. It may be warm but he paid five dollars from whoever's room this was to take it. "But thank you for the offer. I now feel like I'm finally at college."

A round of, "College!" broke out around him. Dan rolled his eyes, not able to take the crowd anymore, and took the rest of the warm liquid in one chug. He left the bottle on the table in front of him as he walked out the door and straight into Blair.

"Humphrey," she moaned as they both rubbed their shoulders where they collided. She was dressed as a greek goddess and Dan couldn't help but do a once over of the costume. "That hurt," Blair whined.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," Dan said, stating the obvious. "You look lovely, Blair."

Blair looked down at her dress, "Oh this old thing? Nate told me we were going to a toga party and brought me to this pre-party thing and now I can't find him. It's like he disappeared." She looked distressed as she looked around, "You haven't see him, have you? We were just down the hall and he's not answering his phone."

"Do you think he's okay?" Dan asked, grabbing her upper arm.

Blair rolled her eyes, "Yeah, of course. I just don't know why he just left me. I turned to get us drinks from my bag and I looked back and he was gone."

Dan looked over his shoulder to see Nate in a make shift toga with a blonde following behind him. "I think he's right there, Blair," he said, pointing behind her.

Blair turned, "Serena."

"That's Serena?" he asked, his mouth slightly open. "She is gorgeous."

Blair hit his chest, "Don't say that."

Dan rubbed the spot where she hit, "Sorry."

"Blair, I found you!" Nate said, a smiling covering his mouth. "I didn't know where you went and I left my phone in the room. Look who I found!"

"I see," Blair nodded. "It's Serena."

"Blair," the blonde squealed. "It's so nice to see you." Serena threw her arms around Blair and in response, the brunette left hers hanging limp at her side. Serena gave her another squeeze and Dan couldn't help but stifle a laugh as he saw Blair bring a hand to the girls back and tap it slightly.

Blair pulled away, "Yes, it's so great to see you. With my fiancé. When I lost him in a dorm party, I didn't think that you would have found him for me." Blair reached for Nate's hand, making sure the other saw the ring.

"You're engaged?" the blonde asked, her face showing all her emotions and none of them good. "You're engaged! This is amazing. I had no idea."

Blair glared at Nate, "You didn't tell her?"

Nate ran his hand through his hair and looked sheepish, "It didn't come up?"

She dropped his hand and turned quickly on her heel to walk through the crowd, leaving Dan with Nate and Serena. "Do you-" Dan started, "Do you want to go after her?"

"No, she just gets more pissed if I do that. Better let her walk it off," Nate told him, clasping his hand on Dan's shoulder. "Do you want to come to the toga party?"

* * *

Dan jogged through the crowd and down the stairs after her. "Blair," he called. "Blair Waldorf."

The brunette spun around, tears glistening down her cheeks. "What, Humphrey? Did Nate send you?"

"Yes," he lied. "He said you wouldn't want to see him and wanted to make sure you got home safely."

Blair wiped a tear off her face, "Well, he's right about one thing." She turned around and started walking down the stairs again, slowing her pace so Dan could catch up. "Did he tell you everything? About them?" He shook his head and she explained. "They slept together when I was gone for the summer, between freshman and sophomore year of high school. He was my boyfriend and she was my best friend and they lost their virginities to each other. I think, sometimes, that Nate sticks with me out of guilt. When he proposed, I thought this was it. This is him choosing me over a ghost of our past. And then she shows up here. And he lies about her… that he found out she was in class over their project. He sees her outside of class. He leaves me hanging and then shows up completely stoned, smelling of pot and perfume."

"Blair," Dan started.

"I don't need your sympathy, Humphrey. I'm just laying out the facts." The stepped into the crisp October air and Dan removed his jacket, draping it over her shoulders. "I don't know what he wants from me. I think he wants me to break up with him so he can be free of guilt, but I won't. I love him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

Dan nodded. "Yeah, I can tell. I'm sure he loves you too…" he trailed off.

"I know he loves me, Humphrey. He's just a silly boy, he doesn't know what he wants. She's the Marilyn and I'm the Jackie. He'll marry the Jackie… you just wait and see."

Blair stepped into the street and raised her hand. "I'm going back home, Humphrey. Thank you for the jacket," she said, letting it slide off her shoulders and handing it to him, their hands grazing under the fabric. Dan jerked his hand back and the jacket fell between them. Blair shook her head and bent down, at the same time as Dan, to retrieve it from the ground. They came up, both grasping their heads where they had clashed, again, and the jacket. "Don't drop it this time, Humphrey. I'm not sure if I can take another hit from you."

"Sorry," Dan groaned, letting the jacket dangle in his fingertips. "Anyways, let me know if you need anything."

"What would I need from you, Humphrey?"

Dan shrugged, "I don't know… a friend?"

A taxi pulled up and she opened the door. "You know, I might just need that."

She climbed into the car and Dan closed the door for her and waved.

Maybe this is what Vanessa meant by living a life outside of their Skype dates. Falling for your roommate's fianceé. That was living, right?


	4. Chapter 4

Week One of Friendship

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Blair laughed, throwing a piece of bread from Dan's plate at his face. "I'm not going to offer up sexual favors for a better grade, Humphrey."

"I didn't say that," he protested, putting his hands over his heart. "I just suggested you find him a date for before the test that merely distracts him from giving it to you."

Blair rolled her eyes, "No. I think I need to resort to actual studying instead of stalking all of Nate's moves. What can you tell me about political science?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," he said, standing and taking his tray. "I can grab yours," he said, reaching for her empty tray. "I do know that you'd be ruthless enough to make a great president."

"Or queen," Blair said, miming putting a crown on her head.

"How many," Dan said, wavering his hand in front of her face, "people do you think you could or would kill to get the crown?"

"As many as I need to," she replied, standing.

Dan laughed, "Maybe you should just write that down on your test and your professor would fear you so much that he would give you an A."

Blair walked around the table and they started to walk outside of the Panera, Dan's choice due to the price. Dan held the door for her and gave her a slight bow.

"Oh thank you," Blair said, curtseying slightly. "How nice of you. I'll give you a promotion from door holder to… door holder of my chariot."

"What a benevolent ruler," Dan said, following behind her.

Blair nodded, laughing, as they both stopped and stood in front of the other. "Well, that will be my plan. I'll write, Professor Burns… one day I will be queen and will murder you if you stand in my way."

Dan threw his head back, "Maybe not that far… but close." He looked at her again, "So, same time next week for lunch?"

"It's a plan, Humphrey," she said nodding and they set out on their separate ways.

* * *

Week Two of Friendship

Dan sighed as Blair pressed play on the DVD player and the beginning of Breakfast at Tiffany's started to play. "Really, Blair? I expected you to have higher taste than this."

Blair glared at him, "What's that supposed to mean, Humphrey?"

"Don't start her on her love of Breakfast at Tiffany's," Nate said, as Blair settled herself in his lap. "She's loved it since I've known her and I've known her since birth."

Blair nodded, leaning her head against Nate's shoulder. "It's true, Humphrey. It's been my favorite movie since I was a child. I even had a cat named Cat and claimed that he didn't belong to me… even though he tried to escape once and I dragged him back by his tail."

Nate chucked, kissing Blair's neck and Dan turned his head from the couple to the television.

"Well, it's just a bit of a stereotype. I'm sure you have a poster in your dorm room of Audrey Hepburn."

Dan got a pillow thrown at his face and he glared at Blair.

"It wasn't me, Humphrey. Nate was protecting his queen," she said, nuzzling into Nate's neck. "Isn't that sweet?"

"So sweet, Blair," Dan said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look, I should go. I just realized I forgot about a test I have tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Blair said, turning her head and pausing the movie. "Tomorrow is Sunday, Humphrey. Do you have a test on a Sunday? Nate, did you know they give tests at this school on Sundays?"

"News to me," Nate said, looking at Dan weirdly. "Some special class you're in?"

"I meant Monday… but I haven't studied yet, so I need to go," Dan said, throwing his legs off the bed and jumping down. He grabbed hastily at his books, not even seeing which ones he took, "See you later, guys."

"Bye Humphrey," Blair said, waving to him. "Knock before you come back. You never know what you'll find."

* * *

Week Three of Friendship

"What are you writing?' Blair asked, poking him with her pen across the table. They were in the NYU library, where Blair spent most of her studying hours. She would have been at Columbia, she explained to Humphrey, but she couldn't accidentally run into Serena there and remind her of her presence, and her ring. "It doesn't look like you're studying?" she whispered.

"Nothing," Dan said, pulling the journal away from her. "It's for a class."

"Then let me see, Humphrey," she said, sitting up in her seat and leaning over. "Come on. We're friends, let me see."

Dan reluctantly handed over his notebook, cringing internally as she read his words, her lips silently moving as she read.

"What is this? It's good," she said, looking up briefly.

He shrugged, grabbing at the moleskin journal. Blair was too fast and turned to her side and out of his reach. "It's for a class, I told you."

"What class?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "I didn't think you were in any creative writing classes."

"It's for next semester, I'm getting a jump on my school work." Dan reached for the journal again and Blair reluctantly gave it back to him. "It's just something I'm working on."

"Well it's good, Humphrey. And I know good literature. My mother is friends with so many authors that live in New York. They all come over for dinner parties," she said, looking off into the distance. "God, I can't wait until Thanksgiving. I'm sick of this dorm food."

"Don't you go home practically every night you're not with Nate for meals?"

Blair rolled her eyes, "Maybe." She bit the top of her lip and looked down at what she was studying and Dan took the moment to study her. He didn't know how Nate had trouble choosing between her or Serena. The choice, for him at least, was obvious. "What are you looking at, Humphrey?" she asked.

"You have something on your cheek," he lied, reaching over and brushing his sleeve against her face. "There, got it." Blair narrowed her eyes and in return he shrugged, trying his best to be nonchalant. "It looks like maybe mascara?"

"Well, thank you then. I have dinner with Nate's parents tonight, it would be tragic to show up with black smudges on my face."

A couple of moments of silence passed between them as they both worked on their respective papers before Blair kicked him under the table. "Hey, is that Serena?" she asked, nodding to a blonde who just sat a few tables away. "And is that Nate with her?" Blairs voice rose and she was instantly shushed by people around them. "Oh, give it up. We're at a college library. Poeple talk, it's natural." People shushed her again and she gave them the middle finger. "Can you see? I have books in my way?"

Dan turned around and slightly rose from the table so he could see, "It looks like it could be?"

"Mother fucker," Blair said, getting shushed again. "Oh, fuck off," she said to the people around them as she stood. "I'm going to go talk to them," she told Dan as she started to walk towards the table. Dan grabbed at her wrist and stopped her.

"Just let them be, Blair," Dan told her. "Let it go it's course. You already know they are meeting, why is this surprising you?"

"I'm just going to go say hi, Dan," she said, twisting her wrist from his hand. "You can either join me or wait here."

Dan stood. He figured, if anything, he could at least stop Blair from lunging at the blonde.

Blair practically floated to the table and she put her books down next to Nate, who looked like he was just caught with his pants down. "Funny to run into the two of you," she said, sitting down next to Nate. Dan took the seat opposite of her, next to Serena. "We were just studying over there," she pointed to the table that her and Dan left, "when we saw you. More the merrier, right? What are you studying, Serena?"

Serena looked down at her notes, "My psychology class."

"And you, Nate?"

"Uh," he said, looking around and having no books to present. "I just walked Serena from our history class to here. I was just leaving."

Blair nodded, "Yes, you should be off."

Nate looked at Dan as though Dan was going to offer him help, instead he just shrugged. Nate wandered off into the stacks of the library. Dan wondered when he was going to return with a random book just to have an excuse to make sure his fianceé didn't maul the blonde.

"Serena," Blair said, her voice lowering. "Stay the fuck away from Nate. Outside of your little study group, stay away from him. You fucked him once under my nose, wasn't that enough?" Blair stood and gathered her books in her arms. "Let's go, Humphrey."

Dan stood, looking from Blair to Serena. Both of the girls looking like they were about to cry, Blair from rage and Serena from shame? He couldn't tell with her. "It was nice to see you, Serena," he muttered.

"Yeah, you too, Dan."

* * *

Week Four of Friendship

"Humphrey, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Blair asked, leaning against the doorframe of his and Nate's shared room watching Nate gather the rest of the essentials he needed for the long weekend at home.

Dan shrugged, "My dad is going to his girlfriend's, so maybe there?"

Blair nodded, "Well, if you feel like it, stop by my place for dessert. I make the best pie."

"She does," Nate grunted, slinging a bag over his shoulder. "It's to die for."

"I'll see what I can do, but she lives in Connecticut."

"Yuck," Blair said, pretending to gag. "Well, have a good Thanksgiving."

"You too," he said, watching as the two of them left hand in hand. Their relationship astounded him, he decided. Blair, who seemed so strong and confident, was not the kind of girl he pegged for being okay with a cheating boyfriend. And Nate… Nate was just a small fish in a big pond who realized he had options. He wasn't going to let Blair go if he didn't have to, or at least until he knew if Serena was going to commit. And Serena, who Dan had seen over a regular basis come and go from this room, seemed to not want to pursue anything with Nate if Blair was still in the picture.

It made his head spin.

He heard a light knock on the door before it opened.

"Oh, sorry," Serena said, popping her head in. "I came to say goodbye to Nate, but it looks like he already left."

"I think Blair came a little early," Dan said, waving her inside. "He didn't look prepared when she showed up."

Serena brushed a piece of blonde hair out of her face, "Sounds like Blair. What are you still doing here? Aren't you going back to Brooklyn for the holiday?"

"I don't think so," he said, shrugging. "My sister went to my mom's in Hudson and my dad is wavering on going to Connecticut or drinking his way though the holiday. Neither of them sound like great options." He had lied to Blair before, not wanting a pity invitation to her dinner. He knew she would have given him one, too, and not because she felt bad, but she knew that Nate was starting to be bothered by all the time they were spending together.

"Me either," Serena said, stepping in to the room and hopping on Nate's bed. "I mean, obviously I wouldn't be going to Brooklyn… but I think I don't have plans either. My mom went to Florida with my brother. I have a ticket to go tonight, but I'm not feeling it. I'd rather be alone than spend it listening to my mom argue with her sister about the best way of raising their children. Spoiler alert, they're both pretty shitty at it."

Dan laughed, sitting up, "So what are you going to do?"

"Go find a Chinese restaurant and drink scorpion bowls until I get sick or die?" Serena said, turning her face to him. "Are you up for it?"

Dan thought for a second before nodding. "I think that sounds much better than Connecticut."

Serena stood, "It's a date then." She flashed a smile at him before walking out of the room. "See you tomorrow, Dan."

"See you tomorrow, Serena."

When the door closed and he felt as though she was a comfortable distance away from his room, he dialed Vanessa.

"I think I've gotten myself in over my head," he said after she greeted him.

"Welcome to college, Dan Humphrey."


	5. Chapter 5

"So let me get this straight," Vanessa said, taking the bottle of whiskey from Dan's hands and taking a swig. She was home for the Christmas holidays and Dan was filling her in on what had become his life. Dan, who read Proust for fun, had suddenly become a bonafide Drama King. "You," she pointed at him using the bottle as she held a camera in the other hand, "like Blair who is engaged to Nate who wants Serena who you are currently having sex with. Do you picture Blair when you're fucking?"

Dan groaned, "That's crude, Vanessa." He reached for the bottle but instead hit her camera."

"Hey, this thing is expensive. It was my entire summer of being a barista to afford this. It's my precious." Vanessa turned the camera at her and checked to make sure everything was still working. She told Dan that she wanted to document this for her film class, a documentary class, and Dan had reluctantly agreed to be taped. "And who's party are we going to?"

"Chuck Bass. He is Blair and Nate and Serena's friend from high school. Apparently he's a huge fuck up and his dad sent him to military school for the rest of high school and he continued on in college."

"I've heard of him," Vanessa said, steadying the camera on the tripod before sitting on Dan's bed next to him.

Dan looked at her oddly, "You have heard of someone from the Upper East Side?"

She shrugged, "Coffee talk. Apparently he's a real bastard and the son of a real bastard. Never had a chance to be a good person. He was accused of some nasty things in high school before his dad sent him off."

"Like what?" Dan asked.

Vanessa pointed at the camera, "I'll tell you later. I don't want to get sued for libel."

"I thought this was just for a class?"

"Well, what if it's really good, Dan? Maybe more people deserve to see it."

Dan shook his head, "No."

Vanessa smiled, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Anyways, tell me more about the love quadrangle. How did you get tied up with Serena? I thought you were fully Team Blair… with merchandise and everything."

The door to his room opened and his little sister walked in, "Jenny, get out."

"Relax," she responded, rolling her eyes extra dramatically. "I just came to say hello to Vanessa. Jesus, Vanessa, your hair, or rather lack thereof, looks so badass. When did you do it?"

Vanessa rubbed her head and grinned, "Right when I moved to California. The heat, I tell you. It was killing me."

"Well you look amazing," Jenny said, leaning in to give her a hug. "Are you free to get lunch before you go back?"

"Anything for you, Little J," Vanessa nodded.

"Great, see you later, then," Jenny smiled, practically bouncing out of the room. "I am going to a party."

"Hey," Dan called out after her. "Hey, Jenny, what party?"

Vanessa hit him lightly in the chest, "She's 17, Dan. Let her go."

"She's my sister, Vanessa."

"Yeah, and even sisters deserve a night out or two."

Dan leaned against his wall and took the whiskey from her hand. "Not that one, she'll get into trouble."

"Come on, Dan, let's get back to the main point. What about this love quadrangle?"

"Right… well, after Thanksgiving, I hung out with Serena that whole weekend. No one else was really on campus and she's actually really cool. Like, stunningly beautiful and super cool."

"And you guys had sex on Thanksgiving. Is that all it takes from being a staunch team Blair supporter to a full on team Serena supporter?"

"There are no teams, Vanessa," he said, rolling his eyes. "We just get along. She's really nice and funny and less… scary? than Blair."

"But you still like Blair."

"I don't know?' he admitted. "I can now see why Nate is so confused."

Dan's phone started to pulsate next to them and he grabbed it and answered, "Serena? Yeah, we'll be there. I'm bringing my friend, Vanessa. Yeah, okay, text me the address."

"Ready?"

Vanessa picked up the camera, zooming in on Dan's face, "I'm always ready."

* * *

"Jenny, what are you doing here?" Dan shouted over the music, his hand resting on Serena's lower back.

Jenny, all decked out to the nines, smiled, "I was invited, Dan."

"By who?"

"Chuck. On Facebook. He invited everyone."

Dan turned to Serena who shrugged, "It's Chuck. He just likes a good time."

He turned around to look at his sister and she had already disappeared into the crowd. He scanned the crowd for Vanessa and spotted her head, easily to do as the lights were reflecting off her bald skin, as she moved her camera in through the crowd. "I don't know, Serena. This doesn't seem like the party my high school sister should be at."

"Funny, this is the exact kind of party I went to in high school," Serena said, laughing as she threw her hands over her head and started to dance. "Come on, loosen up. We're having fun." Serena grabbed into her bag and produced two little pills. "Do you want?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "It makes everything feel so… so great."

Dan shook her off and watched as she placed one on her tongue and the other back in her bag. "I'll take it if he doesn't want it," Nate said, sneaking up behind them with Blair in two, albeit it looked reluctantly.

"No, he won't," Blair said, pulling on Nate's arm. "Come on, Nate. I thought you grew out of your any drug but pot phase."

A man swung his arms around Nate and Blair and pulled them in closer, "Come on, Blair, have some fun. Tonight is all about debauchery. If you're afraid there's not a pill for you, I'm sure I can find one in my stacks for you."

"Get off me, Chuck," Blair said, wiggling out of his arm. "Nate can do whatever he wants, I just won't be part of it."

Nate shrugged and Serena dug through her bag again and gave it to him.

Dan shook his head and wandered away from them, hearing and ignoring Serena call out his name from behind them. He saw Blair's hair crawl out a window and stand on the fire escape. Naturally, he followed her.

"Humphrey," she said, sounding miserable. "I see you've officially gone to the dark side."

"What are you talking about, Blair?" he asked.

"Serena. You are all over her."

"We're kind of dating," he put his hands in his pocket and leaned over the fire escape to see the ground below.

"You're not dating," she corrected him, "you're fucking. She doesn't date people from Brooklyn. Believe me. No one in our circle does."

That stung. Dan whistled briefly before sitting on one of the stairs going to the next level. "Well, then, you certainly know how to put someone in their place."

Blair looked at him confused, "I'm sorry, Humphrey. I shouldn't have said that. You probably are dating, but Serena probably doesn't know it." She sat down next to him and Dan, once again, took his coat off to drape on her shoulders. "I don't know what's getting in to me. I'm acting like a nagging wife and we're not even married yet. I just- I hate when he's high. And he's a stoner so he's almost always high. I can take the weed high, it's everything else. He turns into a different person."

"Blair," Dan started before closing his mouth and vowing to be silent.

"What?" she asked. Dan stayed silent before she poked, hard, into his ribs.

"Do you ever think that maybe, just maybe, you two shouldn't be engaged?"

"This is just a phase," she said, her voice wavering and he could tell that she didn't believe it herself. "I mean, yes, sometimes I think we rushed into things… but we were dating for four years. I didn't pressure him into proposing, if that's what you're thinking."

Dan held his hands up and shook his head, "I wasn't thinking that at all."

"It was different," Blair said, "before. Before she came back, before college. We were really happy in high school together. We had plans. He wanted this just as I did. He proposed without even talking to me about it but I knew it was right, I still think that maybe it's right. It's his grandmother's ring," she said, holding out her hand and admiring the ring. "His parents told him he could only have it if he was really sure. They got married young, too. Nate swore up and down that this was what he wanted, that he wanted me. And now… now, I think he wishes he just bought a ring. It would be a lot easier for him to break the engagement if he bought the ring."

Dan let his arm drape over her shoulders and she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe you should take a break?"

"If we take a break, I'll never get him back."

Dan had no argument to make to that. Instead, he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Vanessa.

"They are making out on the dance floor, Dan," Vanessa said, her voice not hiding the glee. "Full on making out… oh shit, there goes her shirt."

"What did she say? Who's making out?" Blair said, eavesdropping in the conversation before it hit her. She stood, and rushed towards the window to see Nate and Serena doing exactly as Vanessa described.

"What did you do, Vanessa?" Dan muttered into the phone, watching Blair climb through the window again and hearing her yelling profanities.

"I didn't do anything," she protested, "I didn't even know Blair was out there with you. Oh, shit, Dan."

"What?" he said, alerted by the sudden change of tone in Vanessa's voice. It had gone from glee to fear in .2 seconds flat.

"You need to get in here."

"Is she murdering them?"

"No… it's Jenny."


	6. Chapter 6

"Jenny!" Dan shouted through the party, not being heard over Blair's continuous stream of swears directed at Nate, who was buttoning his shirt, and Serena. "Jenny!"

Vanessa appeared by his side, camera still in hand. "She went over there. She didn't look good, Dan."

Dan found a locked door in-between him and his sister, "Jenny!"

"Dan!" he heard her yell from the other side with a slight cry. A muffled yell came out next.

Dan tried jingling the door handle again before running at the door full force with his shoulder. Nothing. Suddenly the party, including Blair, was silent and all eyes were on him. Dan ran at the door again, jumping into the door. Still the door didn't budge.

Blair looked at Nate and Serena and then at Dan and shouted, again, at Nate however this time it was one to get him to help Dan. The two of them now ran at the door, their shoulders bouncing off the wood.

"Who's in there?" Blair whispered to Vanessa as Serena tried to get the party back started so the eyes would no longer be glaring into Dan, who was in full protective big brother mode.

"His sister," Vanessa said, putting her arm down that held the camera. She didn't turn it off, but she wasn't directly filming the action anymore either. "With Chuck."

The two of them were suddenly shocked by a big crash as the door broke and Nate and Dan found themselves in the room. Chuck was holding one hand over Jenny's mouth and the other to her arm, pining her against a wall. Jenny, for her part, was trying to hit him with the other arm and kick him. He was too strong for the 17 year old after years at military training. He was trained fro combat, a young girl posed no threat to him. He let her go as he saw Nate and Dan.

"We were just having a little fun," Chuck said, shrugging as he leaned against the wall. "Weren't we, Jessie?"

"It's Jenny," she said, meekly, standing behind Dan.

"I promised you a good time and I wasn't going to disappoint."

Dan started for him but Nate pulled him back. "It's not worth it, man," Nate said into his ear. "His dad will put you in jail if you touch him."

"He should go to jail for that," Dan shouted. "He's sick. He almost raped her, Nate."

Blair entered the room, Vanessa at her side, and ushered Jenny out before coming back for Dan. Nate stayed in the room with Chuck.

"This is fucked up," Dan was practically shouting as Jenny pulled down her skirt and tried to wipe away tears from her face. "He's fucked up. How are you friends with him, Blair? Is this the reputation you were talking about, Vanessa?"

Both were silent and Dan put his hand on the back of his sister and led her through the party, Vanessa trailing silently behind. "Are you okay, Jen?" Dan asked, pulling his sister to him putting his hand protectively around her back. "Do you want to press charges?"

"No," Jenny said, quietly. "I mean, I'm okay, but I don't want to press charges. He could destroy us, Dan. You heard what Nate said."

"Who gives a fuck what Nate said? Justice should be served."

Vanessa bound in front of them, "And it can be." She held up her camera, "Let me put it online."

Dan said no at the same time as Jenny saying yes. Dan stared at her, "Really, Jenny?"

Jenny shrugged, "Let the bastard burn."

Vanessa smiled slightly, "Jenny, if you don't want to, we don't have to. I just think that if we can't go to the cops and if Dan can't hit him, at least we can ruin the good Bass name."

Jenny nodded, enthusiastically as she was building up her strength. Finally, Dan nodded as well.

* * *

"Why is this thing so long?" Dan said, walking up behind Vanessa as she was editing the footage together. "It probably took only a minute to break down the door and then thirty seconds of confrontation."

"It won't work if it's just the camera being held down and you can only hear things, Dan. You need to get the whole night. No one will watch a black screen. It needs to tell the whole tale."

"You're putting this as a party clip on YouTube," he argued. "You don't want justice, you want hits on your video."

"No," Vanessa said, turning to face him. "I want hits. I want this to go viral. I want people to watch the party immersed in how the other half lives and then I want them to be ripped back to reality. I want shock them, just like Jenny was when she was pulled into that room. I want them angry, Dan. I want them to want Chuck's head on a stick."

Dan sat on his bed, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "I don't know, Vanessa."

"Believe me, Dan. Trust me."

Dan nodded, "Fine. Upload it."

Vanessa nodded, hitting the upload button and then they sat, and eventually Jenny sat, watching as the video views climbed. They had help, of course, Vanessa had met some influential people in California purely by knowing where to be and when to be there and they tweeted the links out.

The counts were rising and so were the comments.

Dan wasn't allowed to punch him but he imagined this must have felt like a punch to the gut to wake up thinking you were invincible and to find out that your reputation and good name had been destroyed.

* * *

Dan woke to his phone buzzing against his leg. His neck ached from the spot that he had fallen asleep against the wall, and he had to lift Vanessa's arm and Jenny's head to get off the bed. Stepping out of the bedroom, he looked down at the caller ID right before the call went to voicemail.

Blair Waldorf

Before he could hit the button to call her back, the phone was ringing again. "Blair," he answered, stumbling into his kitchen and turning on the coffee machine.

"You humiliated me, Humphrey," Blair said, and he wasn't sure but it sounded like she was crying.

"What?"

"That video. You humiliated me."

"I did what?" Dan was stunned. The video was made for one purpose only and here Blair was yelling at him. Of course she would make this about her. Of course.

"Humiliated me. Do you not get service in Brooklyn?"

"How exactly did I humiliate you, Blair?" he asked, anger welling in his throat. "That video was meant to ruin Chuck Bass, everything else is-"

"Collateral damage?" Blair interrupted.

"I wasn't going to say that."

"Well it is. I'm collateral damage."

"Of course you're making this about you, Blair."

"I was there, Humphrey! I saw what happened and I feel very badly for your sister but we were going to deal with it. We don't let people just get away with almost raping someone, Humphrey. Nate nearly killed him in that room."

"That's not good enough."

"You would never have had a case, Humphery. That was justice served in our world. Chuck came out of there looking black and blue and instead you humiliated the person that did that for you. That nearly blinded his former best friend for you."

"Then Nate should pick better best friends."

"You don't get it, Humphrey. Vanessa used you, okay? She used you."

"What are you talking about?"

"She was always going to put that video online, Humphrey. Are you dense? What do you think she was filming for? Did you think she was going to put it in her own personal video collection? No, she was going to put it online or sell it to Chuck's dad to get it to not be on the internet."

Dan opened and closed his mouth, "She wouldn't."

"You're too fucking trusting, Dan. Vanessa got what she wanted and you can't even see it. She got a conclusion to her video that was going to be just about a party in New York and a stupid love… what? Quadrangle? Is that what you called it? Why didn't you just call it a fucking square!"

"You are being ridiculous, Blair," Dan said, his voice lowering into the phone.

He heard silence on the other line and started to say something before she continued, "You are so blind to people. Humphrey. You can't read any signals, it's pathetic. I sit outside in the fucking freezing weather, knowing you'll follow me and complain about my fucked up engagement and you don't even try to kiss me. And now you can't even see that your best friend just played you. She convinced you to go her route of justice, didn't even give you and your sister a night to think it over. Now it and my entire personal life and your pathetic love square musings are online forever."

"Blair, I-" he started before realizing he didn't know what to say. He could see Blair's point in everything. He knew Vanessa's look in her eye the night before, he knew deep down that the filming wasn't for class. He just didn't think she would swing this low.

"No, Humphrey, you don't get to talk. I don't give a shit about Chuck Bass and his reputation but you just screwed with mine… with Nate's… and that unforgivable."

"Blair-"

"Fuck you."

Dan heard silence on the other line and swore to himself before swinging around to see Vanessa, camera still perched in her hand. "Put it down, Vanessa." She obliged and started for the cabinet to get a mug. "No, I want you to leave."

"What?"

"Get out, Vanessa. I want you to leave."

"Why?" she asked, looking confused.

"Because you were always going to put that online, weren't you?" Vanessa looked down and Dan knew that Blair was right. "Do you think this is a game? How did you think this was going to end? With me thanking you for putting my love life online for everyone to see? And now you dragged Jenny into it instead of just going to the cops like normal. That's fucked up, Vanessa. More fucked up than I thought you could be."

"It's art," Vanessa argued. "Not the last part, I didn't mean for Jenny to get involved. That just happened. The rest of it- it's bullshit. You know that. You are better than that life, Dan."

"It doesn't matter, Vanessa. They're my friends. Or they were."

"I'm your friend!" she yelled.

"You were my friend, Vanessa. And now, now I want you to leave."


	7. Chapter 7

Dan opened the door of his dorm, struggling with his bags, on the first day back from winter break to see Nate shuffling around and shoving things in bags. "Hey," he said sheepishly, as he placed his bags at the bottom of his bed. "Going somewhere?"

"My father agreed that I should take advantage of a comfortable bed and home cooked meals. They are no longer forcing the college experience of living in a dorm on me. Congratulations, you got that single you wanted," Nate said, not even turning to look at Dan.

"That's not what I wanted," Dan protested, as he sat down in his desk chair.

"No, you wanted to steal my fianceé and when you couldn't went for more of my sloppy seconds. Smooth move, bro."

"That's not," Dan started, stumbling over his words. "That's not what I wanted, Nate."

"Oh yeah," Nate turned and Dan could see the hurt in his eyes. "That's what you said on that video. That you were in love with Blair and fucking Serena. Don't you think that's messed up? I thought we were friends."

"We are friends. I didn't realize it was going online at the time, Nate. I would have never done anything."

Nate nodded, "No, you wouldn't have because you're weak. You walk around judging us and thinking you are better than us because you had a slightly harder road here but when it comes down to it, you're just trying to be part of what we have." Nate looked down at his wrist to his watch, "I need to go, I have a car waiting for me outside. I'll come back later for the rest of my shit."

"Hey," Dan called out and Nate turned around, his bag slipping from the place on his shoulder, "you're still with Blair?"

"You think you know her because you hung out with her for a month? You don't know her at all because if you did, you would know that she wouldn't let me off so easily as breaking the engagement with me. She's never going to want you, man," Nate said, shaking his head. "You should get over her because if you think I'm mad, I wouldn't want you to run into her.

Nate shut the door behind him and Dan jumped on to his bed, resting his head on the bare mattress. He wasn't sure what he liked more, Nate being his roommate or his now empty room. Dan closed his eyes before hearing the door open again. Sitting up quickly, he was surprised to see Serena, and not Nate, looking at him.

"If you're looking for Nate, he just left."

"No, I know," she told him, coming over and leaning on Nate's bed. "I was looking for you."

Dan covered his eyes, "Look, I've already been chewed out by Blair and Nate and I would like to go through a few hours without getting yelled at again by you. No offense," he said, reaching out his hand. "I just, I've had enough."

He could hear Serena chewing gum and then her starting to laugh. "Do you think I care about that video, Dan? I mean, yes, I question your reasoning skills in deciding that was a good idea to put on the internet but I'm not here to yell at you."

Dan propped himself up on his elbows, "You're not?"

"No. I came to see if you were okay. I ran into Nate earlier and he told me about moving out and how pissed he was. I was just coming to make sure you didn't look like Chuck did when he came out of that room." Serena started to blow a bubble with her gum before popping it with her index finger. "Honestly, Nate doesn't have a real reason to be angry with you. I think it's more the fact that his parents can now see how he acts with his fiancee and their family ring. I don't think either of his parents have that great of YouTubing skills so he's fine."

Dan turned on his side to look at her, resting his head in his palm. "So you think they're overreacting?"

"Not Blair," Serena said. "I think Nate will get over it. He can't stay mad at things forever and selling a conniving roommate story to his parents got him what he wanted anyways, a plush living space at home. Blair, no, I don't think she's overreacting. I think you put a relationship she really throws her heart and soul into on blast and in made her look like a fool in the process. Partly because of me," she said, pushing her thumb into her chest. "I, obviously, haven't talked to her but I think she's also deflecting where her real anger should be directed at." Serena shrugged, pushing herself off the bed. "Anyways, that is my two cents and it doesn't really mean much, so…" she trailed off.

"Well, thanks for coming round," Dan said, awkwardly. "Serena," he said before she walked out. "I wasn't… I wasn't trying to use you after Thanksgiving."

"I think we were both using each other, Dan," she said with a wink. "See you around."

* * *

Dan's computer starting ringing precisely at 10 PM and he could see Vanessa's name pop on the screen. They hadn't talked much, if at all, after he kicked her out of his family's apartment after the video went up but he was not at all surprised to see that she was going to attempt to keep up their Skype dates. Since his social calendar was back to cleared, he walked over to his desk and hit accept, watching as her face materialized on the screen.

"Dan," Vanessa smiled, "I didn't think you'd answer. I thought I might as well try though."

"Yeah, well, I don't have much to do anymore on Saturdays… or any days. I've sort of lost all my college friends," he shrugged.

Vanessa shook her head, "You must have met people other than stuffy Blair and stoner Nate?"

He shrugged, "Not anyone that I really was friends with. It doesn't matter anyways. Gives me more time to read all the books I'm assigned for classed and work on my short story."

"You should think about making the short story into a novel. You're a great writer, Dan, and novels sell better."

"I don't want to sell in, Vanessa. I'm not trying to be a sellout," he said, slightly scolding her for what he thought was selling out by putting that video online.

"Oh, you mean become successful by doing things that you love?"

"Different strokes."

"Dan, stop being pathetic. Those people are horrible and I'm not going to apologize for doing my job and capturing the world as I see it."

"Then can you at least apologize to me for ending my social life?"

"Yes, Dan, if that will make you happy. I'm sorry I ended your prime social life with a bunch of awful, spoiled, rich kids. I'm sorry you won't be featured on Rich Kids of Instagram."

Dan started to laugh, "I accept your apology, Vanessa, but I will never let you film me again."

"That's fine. I've become a legend here. People are begging me to document their parties."

"Well, I'm glad you found that happiness. How's the weather?"

"Well, for one, not freezing my ass off like I was in New York. You could transfer?"

* * *

Dan was bent over his book when he heard the dorm room door open, and he looked up in surprise.

"Humphrey," came the cool voice from the brunette standing in the doorway. "I was hoping you'd be here. Have you seen Nate?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Did he leave you at a toga party again?" Dan asked, biting the top of his pen as he looked to Blair. Seeing the genuine look of panic on her face, he put the pen down and stood up. "Are you okay?"

"Your joke, even on a good day, would not be at all amusing," Blair said, rolling her eyes. "We got into a fight a few nights ago and I haven't seen, or heard from him, since."

Dan nodded, leading her into the room with a gentle hand on her back before closing his dorm room door. "Not to bring up sore subjects, again, but did you check with Serena?"

"Of course I checked with Serena, Humphrey. She was the first person I asked if she had seen him."

"Who else have you asked?"

"His friends, his drug dealer, some people I know he studies with," she said, rambling off a list. Dan was obviously her last resort. "Everyone but his parents."

"Why not his parents?" Dan asked, leaning against his bed as Blair got settled into Nate's desk chair. "I'm sure they would want to know if their son was missing."

"Well, I don't think he's missing," she admitted. "I just think he doesn't want to be found."

"Is that not the same thing?"

"No. I don't think he's in danger, Humphrey. He just is deciding not to be found right now. If I go to his parents, they'll know something is wrong with us and I don't feel like dealing with their questions. I would rather just find out where he went on my own, but I've checked all his favorite spots in the city and he's not there. I thought that maybe he would be hiding in the obvious place, here."

Dan shook his head, "Yeah, no. I haven't seen him since he was moving his stuff out last week or heard from him. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Blair stood and nodded, "I expected as much. I just figured that I should try before I resigned myself to going to speak to his parents and asking where he was." She turned back to Dan, "You don't think you could try to call him, do you? I think that maybe if he is hiding out somewhere, he'd most likely take your call than anyone else's."

"Why?" Dan asked, pulling his cellphone from his pocket anyways. "I'm pretty sure I'm the least likely person that he would take a call from."

"No," Blair shook her head, taking his phone from him. "You're the least likely person that I would ask to call him for me." Blair scrolled through his contacts before coming to Nate, "Here, take it. He'll hang up, if he picks up, if I start talking."

Dan pressed the phone to his head and heard the phone on the other side ring… and ring… and ring until it finally came to a voicemail. He lowered the phone and was about to end the call when Blair started furiously shaking her head.

"Leave a voicemail, you idiot."

Hearing the beep on the other side, Dan started spouting off some nonsense to the answering machine. "Hey, Nate, it's Dan. I guess you would know that from Caller ID. I just wanted to ask you about some of the stuff you have left here and if I could borrow your… uh… pens. Okay, well, let me know. Bye."

"Your pens, Humphrey? Borrow his pens?" Blair looked utterly disgusted at Dan's attempt to playing it cool and lying. "He's going to know something is up. Who calls to borrow pens?" Dan shrugged before his phone started ringing and Nate's name popped up. Showing it to Blair, she threw her hands up. "Of course he thinks pens are more important than I am. Great."

"Hello," Dan said, pressing the answer button and bringing a finger to his lips to get Blair to shush.

"Hey, Dan," came the reply on the other side. "You want to borrow my pens?"

"Yeah, man, they just look… uh," Dan stopped, he couldn't think of a good reason for pens to be what he called his estranged roommate about. "I was just wondering if you were coming back to get the rest of your stuff anytime soon, really. Where are you? Is that waves in the background?"

Nate took a minute to answer and Dan could hear muffled sounds from the other line, "Yeah, man. I just needed a break. I needed to clear my head so I flew down to St. Thomas for a bit. My family has a place here. Anyways, you can just chuck whatever I left there, unless you want my pens?"

"I would love to have a place on St. Thomas," Dan said, repeating the words so Blair could hear.

"You motherfucker!" Blair started yelling and Dan had to cover the mouthpiece with his hand. "That motherfucker has me worried sick and he's out sun bathing? How fucking typical."

"Dan? Are you with someone?"

"It's, uh, my sister. Jenny. You met her at that, uh, party. She's just watching some stupid thing on the television. Getting really intense about it, you know girls and their reality shows."

"Right. Well, I need to go. I'm taking out a sailboat with a couple people I met here. Tell Blair I said I'll be home in a week."

"Blair? What?" Dan replied. "Blair's not here."

"You think I don't know the sound of my girlfriend swearing? It's part of what led me down here. See you later, Humphrey."

The phone went silent and Dan looked at Blair and shrugged. "Well, that went well. He totally had no idea this was a set up or anything."

Blair was fuming and started to grab for Dan's phone, "Give it to me. Let me call him back."

Dan held the phone out of her reach, "Come on, Blair. He knows your here. He won't take another call. At least you know where he is?"

"It's not enough, Humphrey."

Dan noticed in the flailing of her tiny hands to grab the phone that Blair wasn't wearing a ring. Interesting. "Hey, I thought you were still together," he commented, instantly regretting it when he could see that Blair wasn't amused by his deductive skills.

"We are. We're just not engaged. He thought it was ruining the relationship, all the pressure, which is what we were fighting about." Blair grabbed her own phone from her bag and started tapping away furiously. "How much, do you think, a flight down there would cost super last minute?"

"A lot."

"If I didn't have massive things to do for school, I would go down there and murder him." Blair looked from her phone to Humphrey, "I don't know why I'm telling you this or why I'm still here." She grabbed her bag and hurried for the door, "Thank you for your help, Humphrey. That will be all."

Dan looked at the door as it closed, rubbing his temples with his index fingers. That girl was a tornado and he felt like a storm chaser. The closer he got to her, the more he could tell that he was going to be ruined in her wake.


	9. Chapter 9

A few weeks of radio silent from Nate, Blair, and even Serena later, Dan found himself, again, on Skype with Vanessa on a Saturday night.

"Go out, Dan" Vanessa commanded him, sipping on her tea as she looked into the screen. Dan shook his head and she continued, "You are, once again, wasting your college experience. I'm not there to ruin it for you, so what could possibly go wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know, I could run into Nate and he could be drunk enough to want to punch me," Dan said, shrugging.

Vanessa started to laugh, putting her cup down and pointing at him through the camera, "You are being pathetic. First, he doesn't seem the type… well, actually, I heard what he did to Chuck so maybe he is. But didn't you say Serena said he'd get over it? He's probably over it."

"Serena, who is also not talking to me, did say that. But then she went and disappeared as well so now I have no friends and no possibilities for friends since apparently, everyone makes up their mind about who they want to hang out with in the first weeks of college. The people I chose have blacklisted me."

"You sound like a whining child," Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Poor Dan, your life is so hard. Make friends in your classes. Go out and stumble into a party and make friends there. You are not making any friends sitting here with me."

"This is all too familiar, Vanessa," Dan noted. "Honestly, at this point, I just want to keep my head down and get through this year. Maybe next year, with a new roommate, my college life will be restarted. Right now, though, I'm content continuing to ace all my tests with all this study time. And I do have class friends, but they are just class friends. They're not people I want to go spend my nights with."

"Why not? Your sights set too high on the Upper East Side crew?"

Dan looked from the screen to his door that was opening, "Hey, someone's just let themselves in. I'll call you back. They probably think it's the bathroom." Dan closed his computer, standing, to see Blair Waldorf looking at him. "Blair?" he asked, starting to walk towards him. She looked terrible with puffy and red eyes being her defining characteristic at the moment. "Blair, Nate's not here."

"He broke up with me," she said, starting to cry. "Nate broke up with me."

"Not to sound insensitive, but why are you here then?" Dan questioned, as he stood a bit away from her. He wasn't sure if she wanted to come here to destroy Nate's things, which he had already put in a box in Nate's closet, or if she was here for something else.

"That is completely insensitive," she said, over sniffles. "I don't know why I'm here. I thought to myself, after I was shown the door from Nate's house, that I have no one to complain to about this. No one to listen to my crying self because I've pushed them all away in my quest to try to get Nate to love me again. And then I thought of you. You owe me, Humphrey. You started this and you will listen to me until I'm done talking about it."

"Oh… kay," he said, walking towards her before she flung herself into his arms and started to sob into his shoulder. "It's okay," he said, awkwardly patting her back with one hand. He gently started to lead her to his bed and she sat on it and Dan sat on the bare mattress on Nate's side. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Why are you so far away?" she asked, patting the spot next to her.

"Are you drunk, Blair?"

"Maybe a little," she confessed, rolling her shoulders back and then lying down on Dan's bed. "I was at Nate's house, and we were actually having a good time, and we were drinking and then he just said, 'Blair, I want to break up.' Like a solid breakup, not a break or a pause or a sabbatical, a break up. Nate and Blair are now Nate or Blair. People are going to have to choose sides, Humphrey, and I don't think they're going to choose mine. Despite the fact that he openly lusted after Serena right in front of me and despite the fact he was caught on tape making out with her at that awful party. It's just that everyone loves Nate. He's so easy going and wonderful and nice and people will choose his side and I'll be left with nothing."

Dan made little noise as he looked at the brunette across from him. She, who normally seemed so strong, looked so vulnerable. He thought to himself that he preferred the tornado, take no prisoners version.

"Do you have anything to contribute, Humphrey?" she asked, turning her face so it was looking at Dan instead of the ceiling. "Would you like to contribute to my pity party or is it a table for one?"

"No, I just…" Dan stumbled over his words, a common occurrence when Blair was around. "I'm not really sure what to say, Blair."

"You could say that he's an awful person and that you'll be on my side. Even if it's a lie, it would be nice to hear."

"He's an awful person and I'm on your side," he repeated back to her.

Blair sighed, "That was utterly unconvincing. Pathetic. You are an awful actor."

"Well, I do feel bad for you, Blair."

"Ugh, that's even worse. I don't want your pity."

"Did you just ask me to contribute to the pity party?" he asked, confused.

"Contribute, not join." Blair glared at him, "Why are you still on that side when I clearly summoned you over here? I am no longer your queen?"

"Were you ever my queen?"

"It's a joke," she said, patting again the slim spot next to her on the bed. Dan begrudgingly got up and climbed next to her, his back against the cool cement wall. "Better," she said, turning her face to him. "Do you want to know what he said to me?"

Dan shrugged. He wasn't sure that he did want to hear but he certainly didn't want to set Blair off. "I guess."

"He said that he needed to figure himself out before committing to marriage. I laughed in his face, Humphrey. Laughed in his face. I reminded him that he was the one who proposed, who asked his parent's for the ring and he just sat there dumbly like it didn't happen that way. I asked him why he was breaking up with me then, right there, and he said that having fun with me reminded him of how miserable we were on a day to day basis. Isn't that cruel? Assuming I'm as miserable as he was. I think it's cruel." Dan nodded. She turned to him, on her side and resting on her arm, "How long before he finds himself and commits to Serena, do you think? I give it a week, two weeks tops."

Dan shrugged and she hit him lightly in his stomach. "What was that for?"

"You're not being a good audience."

"What do you want me to do, Blair? I don't have anything to say. I don't want to say anything in case you get back together and then use anything I said against me again."

"I wouldn't do that," she pouted. "Okay, no, I totally would do that. Do you know how jealous he was in that month we were hanging out? So jealous. He kept saying things like how I seemed a lot happier hanging out with you instead of him." She batted her eyelashes at him, "I was you know." She put her hand on his chest and Dan started to get nervous. He liked her, sure, but he didn't like where this was going. "Happier when we were hanging out. I like how much you liked me. Like a puppy dog."

"Blair," he interrupted. "Maybe I should go back to the other side."

"No," she said, bring her face close to his. "I don't think you should. I think you're great just where you are." Blair kissed him and he could taste the alcohol still on her lips.

He pulled away quickly, "I think I am going to go sit over there." Dan pointed to the other bed, "You can stay here, if you want, but I am going to stay over there."

Blair grabbed at his arm, "Why?"

"Because you are drunk and sad and this, this would be a mistake. It would be taking advantage of you."

"I'm not that drunk," she protested.

"And I don't want to be a pawn in this game you and Nate are playing." Dan hesitated before pressing his lips to her forehead, "Maybe we can talk about this in the morning, but you should sleep."

"This doesn't make us friends, Humphrey," she muttered, closing her eyes. "This just shows the depth of how pitiful I feel. Just know that."

"Okay, Blair," Dan nodded, taking out an extra sheet and laying it on Nate's bed. "We're not friends."

"Not friends at all. And this never happened."

Dan climbed on to the bed, staring at the ceiling before hearing Blair's breathing get shallower as she fell asleep.

They were definitely not friends.


	10. Chapter 10

Dan stood in the middle of the room, drying off his hair as Blair slept on his bed. He was less surprised than he was last night when his door opened again, this time with a key. "Nate," he said, seeing the other teen standing in front of him. "This isn't want it looks like."

They were the last words he got out before Nate swung at him, connecting with his cheek. While the punch certainly hurt, and his cheek stung from the knuckles, Dan was thankful that it seemed as though Nate had only putt half his heart into it. "You slept with her, you asshole. You didn't even wait a full 24 hours before sleeping with my girlfriend."

Dan rubbed his cheek from where the knuckles hit and leaned on his bedside table, "I didn't sleep with her, first, and second, she's no longer your girlfriend." Nate was rubbing his knuckles and Dan looked at him, "Please don't punch me again." While Dan had taken classes when he was younger, he had only really mastered reflexes and not the actual fighting part.

"You didn't sleep with her? Then why is she in your bed."

"Fully dressed? And a sheet is on your bed? She just slept there. We didn't sleep together, literally or you know…" Dan trailed off. "She just came here looking for a," he was going to say friend but stopped himself remembering Blair's last few words before falling asleep, "confidant? Someone to listen to her?"

"I would have listened to her instead of her just storming off after breaking up with me."

"Wait," Dan said, scrunching up his face. "She broke up with you?"

"She didn't tell you?" Nate asked, squinting at Dan and trying to figure out if he was lying. "She broke up with me last night after dinner."

"She told me-"

"I can tell him what I told you," Blair said, sleep still in her voice as she turned over to look at the two of them. "Nate, did you punch him?" she asked, looking at Dan's face. "You should get ice for that, Humphrey." Dan nodded, walking towards his mini fridge and looking in to no avail for ice. "I told him that you broke up with me, which you did… last week."

"Last week?" Dan asked, turning back and raising his eyebrows. "He broke up with you last week."

Blair nodded slightly, rolling on her back and looking at the ceiling, "All I said to you last night was true, it was just from a different fight. I didn't think me breaking up with Nate would garner as much sympathy."

"She's playing you, man," Nate said, leaning against the desk and smirking.

"I can see that," Dan fired back, glaring at Blair. "What is this? Why am I being dragged into this? I just got punched in the face, Blair, and you are playing some sort of sick game."

Blair look hurt, "That's not it, Humphrey. I wasn't playing a game last night, I just stretched the truth. You were a perfect gentlemen about everything and Nate should be thankful that someone so gentlemanly is in love with his girlfriend."

"Truly, I am so thankful," Nate said, the smirk still plastered on his face. "So, Blair, can we go talk about this somewhere else? I wouldn't want to give the perfect gentleman any intel."

Dan rolled his head back, "Right, because I'm out to steal your girlfriend. I haven't done anything."

Dan could hear the bed creak as Blair got off of it. She patted Dan's chest as she walked to Nate, "Humphrey, you were great comfort last night." She winked at him as Nate threw his arms around her shoulder. "I'll text you, maybe, later and you can start groveling at my feet for my friendship back."

Dan closed his eyes, "Please, don't. I don't want any part of this."

* * *

"I thought you didn't want any part of this," Blair said, smiling mischievously over her coffee. "Here I was thinking I would get no response. What a good little boy."

She reached over and patted the top of his head and Dan grimaced, "I don't want any part of whatever sick games you and Nate are playing."

"We're not playing anything," she said, batting her eyelashes innocently. "We're just hitting a rough patch in our relationships and I would like other options."

"Am I the other option?"

"Humphrey, what did I tell you at Chuck's party? No one from our group would date someone from Brooklyn."

"But you would fuck someone from Brooklyn."

"I didn't say that."

"You implied it the other night," he countered, setting his mug down. "What are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything besides maybe," she started, looking at him all doe-eyed, "maybe a little revenge. Two can play at the humiliation and public hook up game."

Dan coughed, "I'm not being part of this." He started to stand before she tugged on his sleeve and he sat back down. He really was like a trained dog. "I'm serious, I'm not going to be in the middle of some weird UES relationship drama."

"Humphrey, don't you see? You already are in the middle."

"How?"

"Because the only person Nate feels insecure about me hanging out with is you. I could make out with anyone and he would shrug it off. You're my Serena."

"Blair, I really don't want to be part of this."

She pouted, "You don't want to hang out with me?"

He sighed, "Blair."

"Humphrey."

"I think you make for an interesting friend and yes, I enjoy hanging out with you. However," he said, lifting his finger up, "I don't want to be part of you messing with Nate."

"That's fine. All you have to do is be your complete and lovely self. I'm not asking for anything besides friendship. It drives Nate crazy and that's all I need."

He was backed in to a corner. He wanted to be friends with Blair, he enjoyed the tornado that she was, but he didn't want to be part of her sick revenge plan on Nate. "Fine," he sighed, finally. "We're friends."

"Friends," she said, putting her hand out. Dan just looked at it. "Shake it, Humphrey. Shake my hand."

Dan rolled his eyes before taking her hand and shaking it, "This doesn't feel like friendship. It feels like I'm being used."

"We both get what we want. I get to torture Nate slightly for a little while and you get to hang out with me. Isn't that friendship?"

Dan nodded, "Whatever you say."

"See, you're learning," she said, giddy. "Now, give me your schedule so I can meticulously plan out the most strategic times to hang out."


	11. Chapter 11

"Blair," Dan said, looking up from his notebook at the brunette on the other bed. "You know, I really hate being used."

"I'm not using you," she said, without looking up from the textbook that she brought.

"You are using me to make Nate jealous or whatever that is," Dan said, throwing a balled up piece of paper at her.

Blair looked up, "I already told you that I was in a bad state of mind when I framed all that out to you a couple of weeks ago. It was in the heat of the moment after a lot of thinking and came after Nate punched you in the face." She chewed on the top of her pen as she tossed the piece of paper back at him, "Humphrey, do you not enjoy my friendship?"

"I'd enjoy it more if it didn't come with strings."

"It doesn't come with strings," she protested. "Look, I didn't realize that Nate was going to come storming in to claim his princess that day. I genuinely came to you because I was upset."

"But you lied," he countered.

"Okay, but who doesn't lie to make themselves sound better, Humphrey? I didn't plan on lying about it. I found myself coming here to see you and when I got here, I realized that I probably look like a crazy lunatic if I started crying about how I broke up with Nate. Plus, I had been simmering over the stuff that he said to me when breaking up with me for a week without anyone to talk about it with. I just delayed telling you that part and it happened to fall on the night that I came over."

"Blair."

"Humphrey."

"Dan."

"What?"

"My name is Dan."

"I know that your name is Dan," she said, hitting the pen against her knee, "but Humphrey has a much better ring to it. Like Humphrey Bogart. It's very Old Hollywood. Dan is so plain."

Dan sighed, "I still don't like this."

"What's not to like?"

"You are using me."

"Humphrey!" she said, sounding exasperated. "Nate being jealous is just an additional bonus to us being friends. It's a footnote. Like Humphrey and Blair are friends see footnote one and then the reader would go to the footnote and it would read that it made Nate extremely jealous and that made Blair very happy."

"Why does it need to have a footnote, Blair?"

"Because, Humphrey, Nate would be livid if he thought I just wanted to be friends with you."

"Why?"

"If he thinks I'm doing it just to make him jealous then he still thinks I'm in his back pocket and he can continue being the worst boyfriend in the world. If he thinks I'm doing it because I genuinely enjoy your company… he'll have a bigger problem with it. I don't really care what he thinks but if you want to avoid anymore black eyes, you should."

Dan banged his head against the wall of his room, "So you actually want to be friends?"

"Yes," she said, raising her voice slightly. "I have basically thrown myself at you at multiple occasions. How do you even question if I genuinely like being around you?"

"And yet you can't date someone from Brooklyn."

Blair rolled her eyes, "Well, Humphrey, I can't date anyone currently as I am currently with someone."

"But if you weren't, you couldn't date me because I'm from Brooklyn."

"Exactly."

"But you would if I wasn't from Brooklyn?"

Blair paused, "So what are you reading?"

"Blair."

"Humphrey." She put her text book to the side of her and looked at him, "What do you want me to say? Dan, you know I like you-"

"You do?" he interrupted.

"Do we need to rewind and have me repeat the fact that I've thrown myself at you multiple times? Can you follow along with the conversation?" Blair sighed, standing up as she started putting things in her bags. "I have somewhat developed feelings for you despite where you come from and it has proven to be quite irritating as I do stupid things like showing up at your door when I break up with my boyfriend, throwing myself at you and then get rejected. So, do I like you? Unfortunately I think, for the both of us, the answer is yes."

"Then why can't you just dump Nate?"

"I did, Humphrey."

"When?"

"That night, I told you this."

"But you're back together with him, Blair."

She nodded, "A technicality."

"Not a technicality. A hurdle."

Blair sighed turning around at him and walking towards his bed, grabbing the wad of paper and tossing it at his face. "If we broke up once, we'll break up again and maybe this time you don't turn the girl down."

"Maybe this time you don't show up drunk?"

"I make no promises but I'll take that suggestion into consideration. I have to go before I'm late." Blair started to walk out the door before turning back around, "Humphrey, I'm not using you. I will see what I can do about bending the rules about dating people from Brooklyn, if, and only if, Nate and I happen to break up."


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey, Nate," Dan said, as he shut the door behind him. "What are you doing here?'

Nate looked up from his book and waved, "The library is full of people trying to study and I didn't feel like awkwardly trying to find a place to sit. I hope that's cool with you." Dan nodded, sitting at his own desk and opening his notebook. "Hey, how's Blair, by the way?"

Dan looked back at him, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how is Blair? I haven't really talked to her."

Dan was confused, "What do you mean?"

"We broke up?" Nate told him, leaning over his chair. "Don't you guys hang out regularly?"

"When?"

Nate scrunched up his face, "Dude, we've been broken up since that day I punched you in the face."

"Blair said you got back together."

Nate shrugged in reply, "Well, if we did, it's only in her mind. I tried, that day. We talked for awhile and I tried to tell her that we should get back together and she said she didn't want to. Since then, we've both kind of gone our separate ways. I kind of assumed you two were dating?"

"She doesn't date people from Brooklyn," Dan replied, trying to focus on his notebook and then giving up. "What do you mean you two have been broken up since then?"

"I mean that we haven't been together? I don't know how else to put it." Nate turned back to the book that he was studying from, "I don't know why she didn't tell you. I figured it was part of why she was breaking up with me. That and the entire St. Thomas fiasco. Apparently it's not a good idea to go to a tropical island in the middle of a fight with your girlfriend."

Dan gave him a semi grunt in reply, "Right. Broken up. Cool."

"I don't think you know what you're getting in to," Nate said.

Dan didn't think he did either.

* * *

"You summoned?" Blair said, sliding in the chair across from him and delighting in the fact that there was already a coffee waiting for her.

Dan nodded, biting the inner of his lip before starting to speak. "Are you and Nate together, Blair?"

Blair glanced up at him after putting sugar in her coffee and looked very guilty. "Define together."

"Are you dating Nate, Blair?"

"Well," she started, stirring the coffee maddeningly slow, "no."

"Since when?"

Blair shrugged, "Does it matter?"

"Yes, of course it matters. When did you break up?"

Blair sighed, "The night I came over and just never got back together."

Dan hit the table with his hand, "What game are you playing, Blair? I thought you were playing one game and now you changed the rules. What goes on in your head?"

"Quite a lot," she replied, sipping on the coffee and placing it down on the table. "You just assumed when we got coffee that day, speaking of which is it a coincidence that you summoned me here?, that we got back together."

"No," he said, pointing his finger at her, "you said you did."

"No, Humphrey, I said I wanted to make him jealous and that we were in a rough spot in our relationship and I believe I even said I wanted other options." She shrugged, "The rough patch never smoothed out."

"Blair, you've definitely said you were back together."

She nodded, "Yes, after that, sure."

"How is that not fucked up?"

Blair sighed, leaning back in her chair, "It might be. A little."

"A little? How about a lot? You've led me to believe you two were still dating."

"I just didn't want any pressure. After you just assumed we were back together, I realized it was easier that way."

"Easier for who?"

"Both of us, I think," she responded. "Probably me," she finally conceded. "It was easier for me. With you thinking I was off the market, and I already knew you would respect that, I could just kind of figure things out."

"What things?" he grilled her. "How was this easier?"

Blair put up her finger, "Just give me a moment, Humphrey. You see, I've been in a relationship for six years of my life to Nate. If I told you I was out of that relationship, I figured you would be all jumping at the chance to ask me out and I wasn't ready for that. So, by somewhat leading you on that I was together with Nate, I got to hang out with you with no pressure and I got to be single at the same time. It was the best of both worlds. And, to be fair, it really did drive Nate mad a bit. He's cooled off, though. That's good for you."

"When were you going to tell me?"

"What is this? An interview? I don't know, Humphrey. I'm telling you now, isn't that enough?"

Dan shook his head, "No, it's not."

"I understand that it's a bit…" Blair bit her lip, searching for a word, "unconventional, but I think it was for the best. We got to hang out without any strings attached or awkwardness and I got to figure things out."

"That's great for you, Blair, but it makes me look like a fool."

"Why?" she pouted. "Because I didn't sleep with you right away? Because I didn't jump at the chance to date you once I was single after six years?"

"No, because this entire friendship is built on lies and your weird game playing. This isn't a game," Dan told her, growing angry. "I'm not someone you get to fuck with for fun."

"I wouldn't say it was fun or that I was really fucking with you. It was a misunderstanding."

"It was a lie."

"Fine. I lied."

Dan nodded, standing up, "I'm going to go now. Enjoy your coffee."

"Where are you going?" she asked, standing up. "I edited the rules. Boys from Brooklyn can take me out."

"Blair," he started, "I don't want to go out with you. I think you're mad."

"Humphrey," she said, reaching out for his arm but he shrugged her off. "I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"I'm not hurt," he corrected her. "I just feel like you are this game master who changes the rules to suit her. If you wanted to be friends and not date, you could have just said that. I just don't get why you had to lie about it."

"Lying comes easier to me than truth," she confessed. "I promise, no more lies."

Dan looked at her, shaking his head, "I don't think I can do it. I think I need some time to think this through."

* * *

Dan heard a small knock on his door later and opened it to find Blair, looking just as miserable as a few months ago when she showed up.

"I think I got broken up with, Humphrey," she said, letting herself in.

"I thought you and Nate were already broken up? Is there another guy I don't know about?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm not very good with apologizes," Blair started, "but I think that I owe you one. In my head, letting you believe that I was with Nate worked out very well for me. However, and this is a big however, I did not put myself in your shoes and really think about how you would react when you eventually figured it out or I eventually told you. I don't know, but I think I expected you to be thankful? I know, completely fucked up but…"

"Go on," he said.

"I just, I enjoyed having this no pressure situation. I wasn't trying to use you or have this go for so long but I kind of didn't figure out the how to tell you part? So, I am apologizing for being completely self centered and not letting you know what was really going on. I just, I wanted to hang out and not have to worry about dating and all of the stuff that came with it. And if you don't want to be my friend or anything more, that's fine. I think it's fine? I don't know. I just feel kind of awful about before and this whole thing and my heart, which I surprisingly have, made me come here and tell you all of this."

Dan paused before nodding, "Well, thank you."

"Thank you?"

"I don't think you're a complete sociopath anymore," he said, reaching for his door. "But I think you should go still."

Blair grabbed her bag and nodded, "Well, thanks for being a good audience. I'm completely mortified."

"Go," he told her. "And then knock on the door."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Blair left the room and Dan closed the door. He heard a gentle knock a few seconds later and he opened it again, "Hello. Who are you?"

"Blair?" she asked, confused. "Humph-"

"Blair, nice to meet you. I'm Dan," he said, holding out his hand. "Dan Humphrey."

"I know who-"

"I know, Blair. I'm giving us a fresh start. It's ceremonial."

She nodded, "Right then. Well, I'm Blair, as I said, and I'm very single but I come with heavy emotional baggage and a sometime hot tempered ex boyfriend and maybe some crazy tendencies. I'm trying to get that last part in check."

"I'm Dan. I am also very single. I don't come with that much emotional baggage but I happen to have a three strikes policy and I think you've already used two of them."

"I thought you said fresh start."

"I gave you a full strike," he told her. "It was nice to meet you, Blair. I need to get back to studying as finals are coming up, but why don't we grab dinner tomorrow?"

"As friends?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"We'll see."


	13. Chapter 13

"Am I off probation yet, Humphrey?" Blair asked, sliding in to the seat across from him at the library. "It's almost finals and you've been playing this charade game of friends for too long."

"I'm trying to study," Dan said, barely looking up at his notebook. "I need to pass with flying colors for my position in the writing class this summer to hold. Can you please not distract me?"

"I'm not distracting," she said softly before opening her own book. Dan glanced up and saw her looking at him instead of the book, "Why do you even want to do that writing class? Don't they offer it next year for you? Summer school is so high school, Humphrey."

Dan shook his head, "Well, if I can graduate sooner that means I save money on room and board and classes and it means I get all the essentials done so I can focus on the classes I want to take. Not all of us were born wealthy, Blair."

"Well, aren't you wasting the money on the class in the summer anyways? How is it a savior of your precious cash?"

"I stay at my apartment and don't have to pay for my dorm room," he told her before glancing down at his notebook. "Okay, starting now we have an hour before you can distract me again. Some of us have to get by more on our brains than our natural good looks."

"Are you calling me good looking, Humphrey?" she asked, hitting her pen on his notebook. "Humphrey, come on. The hour can start in a minute. Didn't you miss me all week?"

Humphrey shook his head, "It was very productive, to tell you the truth. I didn't have anyone begging me to take them out on a date."

"I'm not begging," she protested. "I'm simply offering up my company as more than friends for a night. Why are you resisting this?"

Dan looked up again, sighing, "Because you have one strike left. Do you really want to waste it?"

Blair closed her mouth in protest and shook her head.

They had been just friends, on Dan's insistence, since he found out that she and Nate were actually not a couple. It had been two months and Blair had been trying to get him to break his vow of friendship for at least the last month. He surprised himself with how his will was holding up, even when they were drunk at a party together once and she leaned in to kiss him. Dan wasn't so crazy to push her away but he did not let it get further. It was driving her crazy and he was enjoying it just a little.

* * *

"I'm going to the vending machine. Do you want something?" she asked as she kicked him under the table. "My treat."

"The only thing I want is coffee and they don't have vending machines for that here," Dan told her, bending down to rub his shin. "How are you so restless? Don't you worry about passing?"

Blair shook her head, "I have a fantastic memory, Humphrey. I also study through the year so it's not a last minute cram session before the test. If you were a better planner, you might not be so stressed."

Dan glared at her, "Well, I was a little distracted by my roommate's crazy girlfriend."

"I'm sure you mean crazily attractive," she said as she pushed her chair out. "I'll be back, watch my things."

Dan gave her a thumbs up before scribbling something down on a piece of paper. It wasn't that he was last minute cramming as much as he was last minute stressing. Dan had spent most of his year with his head buried in his school material so this should be coming easy to him but as he flipped through his notebook that day, he found he remembered less than half of it. He was desperate to get in to the summer program so he had 24 hours, less now, to jam it into his brain so he could write a cohesive essay on the topic his professor chose tomorrow.

No pressure.

Dan was so immersed in his notes that he didn't notice Blair came back until she slid the coffee she had retrieved under his nose. "I don't know your order so I got what I usually get for you. You're welcome."

He looked up, meeting her eyes and taking in how pleased she looked with herself, "Thank you, Blair." He took a sip of the steaming liquid before briefly making a face. "What is this?"

"Tea," she said, smirking. "It's better for you. Drink up."

Dan shook his head, laughing, as he raised his cup to her briefly. "You are one of a kind."

* * *

Blair tossed a small piece of paper at him and Dan glanced up. It had been two hours since the tea and Blair had disappeared and reappeared more times than he could count with countless other snacks. "What?" he asked.

"Read the note," she told him.

Dan unfolded the piece of paper seeing one word: France?

"What is this?" he asked, crumpling it back up and tossing it to her. "Is it some kind of restaurant?"

"No, Humphrey, it's a country."

"I mean, I know that. But why did you write it down on a piece of paper?"

"Do you want to go?" she asked, scribbling on her notebook. "I just talked to my dad and he asked if I wanted to go for the summer to see him and his boyfriend. Maybe we can use my last strike there."

Dan shook his head, "Summer program."

"Back up plan," she replied, taking a chip from the back and putting it in her mouth. "The program isn't all summer, is it? You can come for a week."

"Money, Blair."

She tossed the paper straight at his face, "Come on, Humphrey. You think I would ask knowing you already worry about money without a plan? My dad said he would gladly pay for a guest."

"I'm not a charity case."

"It's a trip to France, Humphrey. We can eat cheese and drink wine and get out of this city for a bit. I think the city is really dragging us down. Bad memories and all that." She fluttered her eyelashes at him, "Please. Think about it at least?"

"Do you know how crazy you sound? Inviting someone you've only known for a year to France so you can use a third strike?"

"We're friends, aren't we? And friends go on trips together."

"Not fully paid trips courtesy of the friend's father."

"I'm a special friend," she explained, tapping her pen on the table. "Think about it?"

Dan nodded, turning back to his notebook before looking up at her, "Blair, you haven't studied one thing since you got here. What are you doing here?"

"I already had most of my finals," she said, shrugging. "I just figured you'd want company and I had nothing else to do this afternoon." Blair glanced at her phone for the time, "But I actually have plans for dinner with my mom and step dad so I should probably get going. Think about France, Humphrey. I'm serious. You can still keep me on this weird probation period if you insist but we are friends and as friends I think you should say yes." Blair stood up and gathered her stuff, shoving trash in a bag and glanced at him, "And, Humphrey, you know all of that. I've seen you study almost every single day that I've visited your room. I think you should distract yourself instead. What time is your test?"

"1 PM tomorrow."

"I'm coming over after dinner. Leave the library, definitely shower, and eat something. You need to stop thinking about all of this or you're going to go insane."

Dan nodded, "We'll see. I really need to ace this."

Blair put her two hands on the table and leaned forward, "If you don't ace it, I'll personally bribe the professor of your summer program to let you in. Go home, Humphrey."

* * *

Dan sat on his bed, his notebook still in his lap when the door opened. "Bla- Oh, hey, Nate."

"Hey, I just came to get some last minute studying in. I can see you're doing the same thing," he said, holding up a notebook. Nate had indeed stopped sleeping in the room but had more and more frequently stopped by at random times. Dan questioned if it was really for studying or if he was just hoping to run into Blair. He had heard from Serena, when he ran in to her on campus, that Nate was having a surprisingly difficult time with the break up given his past behavior and that she had been cut off as though he was trying to reform.

"That's fine," he nodded. "Doing the same," he said, holding up his own notebook. "What time is your exam?"

"8 AM."

"Brutal."

An awkward silence filled the room until a knock came on the door. Dan got up to slide off his bed before Nate waved him off and opened the door. "Blair," he said, and Dan wished that he had jumped off the bed instead. "It's nice to see you. Aren't you a little hot in that jacket?"

Dan glanced over Nate's shoulder to see Blair in a trench coat and looking flushed. "Hey, Blair."

"Nate," she said before walking past him to Dan. "Dan, can I see you outside for a quick moment?" Dan nodded before sliding off the bed and glancing at Nate who looked dejected on his way out. Blair pulled the door shut behind them, "What is he doing there?"

"Studying?"

"Well, I can't distract you now," she said, pulling at the strap of her coat. "It's ruined."

"What is ruined?" Dan asked, raising his eyebrows. "I thought by distraction you meant watching the same movie over and over again. I'm sure Nate won't mind."

Blair shook her head as she loosened the knot on her coat, "That wasn't the distraction I had in mind."

"Then what was it?" Dan asked. Blair opened her coat to reveal lingerie. "Oh," he said, trying not to gape. "Well, then."

"Yeah, so I should probably go. This was a waste," she said, tying the coat back on as tight as she could. "Good luck on your exam." Blair turned around before Dan grabbed her wrist and slid his hand down, connecting his hand with hers. "What is it?" she asked, turning back around before Dan kissed her. He could feel her free hand find the side of his face as he let his hand find her lower back and pulled her towards him.

Dan pulled away, "I think that's the sexiest thing anyone has tried to do for me… ever."

"I try," she said, her cheeks slightly reddening. "Nate obviously had to ruin it by showing up."

"I think you're off probation," he told her, playing with the tie on the jacket.

"Well, I would hope so," she said, giggling lightly. "Look, I should go. I don't really feel like hanging out in that room with him. I leave for France in a couple of days so maybe we can hang out before I go."

Dan nodded, stepping back from her but still holding one of her hands in his. "I'll call you after my exam."

She slid her fingers from his and put her hands in her pockets, "And think about France. Just for a week. It will be fun."

"I will," he told her. "I'll see you later, Blair."

"Bye Humphrey," she called out as she turned and headed in the opposite direction down the dorm hallway.


	14. Chapter 14

"So, Humphrey, when are you coming?" Blair asked, and Dan tried to focus on her face instead of the bikini top that she had worn for their Skype conversation. "I need to know so I can book your ticket."

"I don't know, Blair," he said, running his hand through his hair. "I really don't think I can take the charity of your dad to fly me over to Europe and then freeload for a week at his chateau."

Blair rolled her eyes, "Humphrey, get over it. I was thinking the first week of August. When is your last day of your summer class? It was, what, two months? So end of July?"

"Beginning of August. We have time off for the Fourth of July."

Blair looked down and then back up, "Okay, so let's say the second week of August. Why don't you just stay the rest of the summer? All I do here is lay by the pool and eat cheese. I need a distraction."

Dan shook his head, "If I go, and I'm saying if, it can only be for a week. I need to go visit my mom for a week." Blair blew out air and he could see stray hairs move with her breath. "Okay, I'm looking at a calendar and I think that second week would work."

"So can I book it? I need your Passport number."

"I don't have a Passport. I've never been out of the country."

"Humphrey! Okay, look, you need to go to the Passport office tomorrow and get the expedited service so you get it in three weeks. If we wait for the entire process, then the ticket here and back are going to be sky high."

"If it's going to be a hassle, Blair, then we should just say it's not worth it."

Blair stared into the camera and Dan was a little unnerved by the piercing stare that translated even through the video call. "No, Humphrey. I am so bored that I am willingly hanging out one on one with my dad's boyfriend. I need a friend."

Dan nodded, "Fine. I'll go tomorrow."

Blair smiled and Dan could hear some voices in the background, "Look, I have to go. I'm going out to dinner with my Dad and then hopefully finding a nice bar where I can drink my weight in champagne. I want you to call me after you go to the Passport office so I know you went."

"Okay, mom."

"That is the least unsexy thing I've ever heard, Humphrey. Don't you dare ever call me your mother again."

Dan couldn't say anything back as Blair leaned in and clicked the button to end the call. She was still a whirlwind even with an ocean between them.

* * *

"Dan," he heard a cheerful male voice behind him followed by a hand on his shoulder. Dan turrned around to see his old roommate, Nate, behind him. "Hey, man. How's your summer?"

Dan nodded, awkwardly shifting the weight of his bag on his shoulder. "Oh, great. Just taking a couple of extra classes," he said, lifting the bag. "How's your summer?"

"Great," Nate said, smiling. "I'm actually flying out to Europe tomorrow to do a little backpacking with a couple of friends. Backpacking and blazing."

"Cool," Dan said although unable to muster up any enthusiasm. "Where are you going in Europe?"

Nate shrugged, "We're landing in Italy and I think we'll just go from there. We don't have return tickets booked so we can go wherever we want. I'm thinking ending up in France to go see Blair."

Dan tried to lower his eyes so it wouldn't give away his shock that Nate and Blair were apparently on good enough terms that Nate would go visit her. Dan wasn't kidding himself, he knew he wasn't dating Blair, but he was still surprised that in a few hours of video calls, Blair had never mentioned talking to Nate. "Right, that should be fun. When do you think you'll be there?"

"Sometime in August," Nate said, shrugging. "I want to get back in mid-August so I can do some sailing with my father."

Rich people, Dan thought. "Cool man… well, have fun."

"Maybe I'll see you in France," Nate said, slapping his hand on Dan's back a little harder than Dan would deem necessary for a friendly goodbye. So Nate knew Dan was going but Dan didn't know about Nate? Well, that was awkward for him.

"Right. Well, see you."

* * *

"I didn't invite Nate to come visit me, Humphrey," Blair said, narrowing her eyes at the camera. "Are you serious? Why would I invite Nate here. I haven't even spoken to him in months."

Dan nodded slightly but avoiding looking into the lens of camera. "Right."

"I'm serious," Blair protested. "I swear to you that I didn't talk to Nate. I don't really feel like I have to explain this because the idea of it is completely ridiculous but I don't want you to feel like I'm setting you up for a trap."

Dan shrugged. "Okay, Blair."

"Dan," Blair said, a slight whine coming over her voice.

At the sound of his first name, Dan looked up and met her eyes, at least in the best way he could seeing as he was really looking in to a camera. "I just- it was weird that he knew that I was going and in August."

Blair snorted, "Come on, Humphrey. Our parents are friends, they run in the same circles… everyone talks. I'm having a boy from Brooklyn come visit me in France… you don't think my mom is complaining about that? I'm sure she's going around in circles claiming my reputation is shot and I'm sure it's gotten to his parents and they've told Nate. Parents love me, especially the Captain."

"Maybe I shouldn't go? It will be so awkward to be there with Nate."

She made a noise that indicated disgust. "Do not pull that card, Humphrey. Your ticket is booked and I will see you in a couple of weeks. I'm not going to hear no anymore or any wishy washy shit. If Nate shows up, he can sleep in the guest house and hang out by himself."

"Okay," Dan said, his resolve building up. "I should go. Vanessa and I are going to dinner with Jenny tonight."

"Well, have fun. I'm going to go call my mom and complain about her lack of keeping her mouth shut ruining my potential love life. Bye, Humphrey."

Once again, Blair cut the video off before Dan could respond. His open mouth was probably response enough.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go to France? I could take your ticket. Scratch out the Dan and write Jenny." Dan's sister sat on his bed watching Dan try and figure out what of his wardrobe would be most unlikely to stand out in France. "Dan, put down the black t-shirt. It has to be the tenth you've tried to shove in your suitcase and you might want to use the space for maybe, I don't know, colors?"

Dan threw the t-shirt at his sister as he glanced over his luggage again. He was positive that he was going to forget something. He had already gone through the list that Blair had sent him (including some food that she missed from the states) and it seemed to be fine, but he was still worried about everything. Especially since Nate had posted on his Facebook that he was arriving in France tomorrow which meant one day before Dan.

"I'm not sure Homeland Security would let you through with my name crossed out," he said, as she folded his shirt for him. "Although, you might be an asset if you can fit in my luggage."

Jenny laughed as she crawled over to the bag and sat on top of his clothes, "Perfect fit! I guess I'm coming."

"I don't even know what to talk about with Blair's dad or his boyfriend or Blair… or Nate, if he really goes."

His sister rolled her eyes as she curled up against the clothes and started to shut the top of the luggage, "Just be your ever so charming, slightly depressing, mostly awkward self. They'll love you. And if they don't, fuck them."

"Very good advice," he said, giving her a thumbs up. "That sounds like a perfect plan."

"That's what I'm here for," Jenny said, struggling to now crawl out of the suitcase. "It's just a week and your in France. Just drink a lot of wine and woo your weird internet girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," he corrected her.

"Yet," she countered, finally sitting back on the bed. "No girl spends hours of her summer in France Skyping with someone if she doesn't want to… you know."

Dan felt his cheeks flush, "Yeah, well, her ex-fiance is also going to be there."

"You need to get over that," Jenny said as she peered into his bag. "And this shirt. You need to get over this shirt." She took the shirt in question and held it up before tossing it in a giant pile that she had already labeled as clothes that couldn't cross the ocean.

Dan reached in the pile and pulled it back out, "Hey, I actually like that one."

"Dan, you can't wear a t-shirt for Dad's band in France. You aren't really that lame, are you?"

* * *

Dan walked through the airport, struggling to keep his bag upright. Blair had said that she was waiting outside for him, not wanting to bother with the airport hello, outside of a car. Dan stepped out into the fresh air and took a deep breath. Funny, France seemed to smell a lot like New York.

"Humphrey," he heard a familiar voice to the side. Blair was standing, holding hands, with a very tall, very good looking gentlemen. They started to walk towards him and the man she was with let go of her hand and took Dan's bag from him. He heard a slight accent as the man said hello. "Please meet my new boyfriend," Blair said, pointing to the man.

Dan couldn't see himself but he was sure he looked crestfallen. At least it wasn't Nate, he told himself.

"Oh my God, you believe me?" Blair started laughing and the man shook his head. "It's my dad's boyfriend, Roman. You think I would come pick you up from the airport with a boyfriend?"

Dan shrugged, trying to find his composure. "I don't know. It does seem like something you would do."

"I told her not to do it," Roman said, opening the back door of the car for Dan. "She insisted."

"I threaded him with the fact I know he dyes his hair and my father doesn't," Blair said, smirking. "Anyways, you look awful."

Dan scoffed, "Thanks, Blair."

"Well, I mean, it's what time in New York? 4 AM? You just look tired. Like a poet, except probably less talented."

"Again, thank you," he said, laughing slightly.

Blair put her hands on either side of his face, "Your breath probably smells to like when you first wake up."

Dan raised his hand to cover his mouth and Blair moved her hand to push away his. "What are you doing?"

"Just shut up, Humphrey. Don't ask questions." She leaned in and kissed him and Dan, despite his fatigue, felt like he just got an energy boost. They both pulled away when they heard the sound of the horn from the car. "Okay, climb in. I hope you don't get car sick because Roman is an insane driver."

* * *

Dan felt something poking his side and he covered his face, "Five more minutes."

"Humphrey," he heard before he remembered where he was. He seemingly jumped up and took in his surroundings, he must have fallen asleep on the ride from the airport to Blair's dad's house. "You can sleep when we get inside but you need to get inside. Unless you want to sleep in the car."

"No, a bed sounds nice."

"Who said anything about you having a bed?" Blair said, laughing. "I'm kidding."

Dan nodded, wiping his eyes. "Right, well, I could probably sleep anywhere right now. I didn't sleep very well on the plane."

"Sorry that I had to get you coach, your booking was last minute."

"That's not what I was saying," he said, climbing out of the car and blinking to adjust to the sunlight. Dan looked around at the house, which was massive, and the yard, which was massive, and the glistening blue pool. "This is amazing."

"I know. Who knew when my parents got divorced I would get in a built in fake boyfriend and an amazing house in France?" Blair put her hand on Dan's upper back and started to steer him to the house. "Now, don't be shocked but Nate is here. He is staying in the guest house but my dad told me I had to at least talk to him. It's super awkward for all of us, mostly me."

Dan nodded, too tired to feel self conscious about it.

As they entered the house, Dan was stunned at the gorgeous interior. This was not his comfort zone at all. And his stomach dropped even more when he took in the sight of Nate who was joking with Roman and Blair's dad.

"Dan," Nate said, overly cheery. "It's great to see you." He strode towards him and embraced him.

Dan patted Nate's back, "Right. You too."

It was going to be a long week.


	15. Chapter 15

Day One

"Do you want any coffee, Daniel?" Blair's dad, Harold, asked as Dan stumbled into the kitchen the next morning. He had taken a brief nap in the day and then had dinner and went back to bed. He finally woke up at 5 AM France time and had been up since. When he heard some moving outside his room around 7 AM, he finally put on a shirt and exited his room. It was just him and Harold, who he had briefly said hello to the other day, in the kitchen.

"I would love some coffee, Mr. Waldorf," Dan said, nervously sitting down on the stool in the kitchen. "Thank you, again, for this trip."

Harold shrugged, "Anything for my Blair Bear, and please, call me Harold."

Dan smiled at the nickname, "If you don't mind, I think I'll stick to Mr. Waldorf. My dad taught me respect my elders at a young age."

Blair's dad shrugged, "Elder?" He looked down at himself and Dan followed his eyes. For however old he was, Dan would agree that Harold Waldorf was a very handsome man. "Whatever you want though, Daniel."

Harold placed a cup in front of Dan and Dan smelt the bitter liquid before taking a very satisfying sip. "Thank you so much."

"It's nothing. Just a little coffee."

"I meant, again, for everything," Dan said, sipping his coffee. "I've never been out of the states. I don't even know if I've been outside of the eastern United States."

"Well," Harold shrugged, leaning against the counter, "everyone needs to see the world and get cultured. What is your major in college, Daniel? How did you meet my Blair Bear?"

"I'm an English major," Dan said, placing his cup down. "I, uh, met Blair through Nate actually. We were roommates at NYU."

Harold nodded, "I have to say, I'm a very big fan of Nathanial. When Blair told me he was surprising us with a visit, I was very excited. She was very quick to tell me that he fell out of favor with her," he shrugged, "and I guess that's life. I am rooting for them to reconcile however. They would make me very good looking grandchildren."

Dan tapped his fingers on the counter and tried to figure out what to say.

Harold seemed to notice the awkward silence, "Well, I'm sure you are also a very nice gentlemen."

"Thank you," he replied, pushing himself off the stool. "I think, uh, I'm going to go back to my bedroom and maybe read for a bit." Harold nodded without a word. "Well, thank you for the coffee, Mr. Waldorf." Dan was backing out of the kitchen, "It was really nice to talk to you this morning."

* * *

Day Two

Blair looked spectacular in her bikini, Dan noticed and tried not to stare as both Roman and Harold were also lying by the pool. She walked over, dropping her towel on the chair next to Dan's and sitting down. "I think we should go out tonight, Humphrey. Roman says he knows a pretty good bar in the middle of town that we can walk to."

"That sounds good," Dan responded, looking from his book to Blair. "Where's Nate?"

Blair shrugged, "Probably sulking in the guest house. He had the nerve to complain to me that I was ignoring his very romantic visit, that he came all the way here to see me and I wasn't paying him any attention. Boo hoo."

Dan glanced at Blair's father who was staring at them, "Maybe you don't want to say that too loudly?"

"Why? I don't care if he hears me."

"No, your dad," Dan said. He hadn't told Blair about the awkward morning conversation from the day before as Harold had insisted on spending every minute with him and Blair as he showed them around town. "I think he might be a fan more of Nate than maybe someone from Brooklyn that he just footed the bill for to come over here."

"Well, I'm a bigger fan of my mother than Roman so we both have to get used to disappointments." Blair stood, "I'm hot. Do you want to come in the pool?"

Dan nodded, tossing his book to the side. "Yeah, it's very warm out here."

"That's not why I'm hot," Blair said, raising her eyebrows before spinning around. Dan followed her into the pool, trying to find his footing in this weird flirtatious relationship they had. "Daddy," she called, floating in the middle of the pool. "Don't you and Roman have things to do this week? We don't need a chaperone."

Dan looked away, trying to convey to Blair's father that he had nothing to do with her brashness. He could still feel Harold's eyes burning into him even as he tried to look his most innocent.

"I have the whole week off, Blair Bear," he said, pushing his newspaper down. "We wanted to spend time with you."

Blair huffed, "Daddy, I'm here for another two weeks. Dan is only here for a week."

Roman turned to Harold, "She's right. We should give them their time, Harold."

"I'm not giving my teenage daughter time with her boyfriend."

"I'm not-" Dan started to say he wasn't her boyfriend. Blair glared at him. "I mean, I'm just… I have nothing to say."

"Daddy, you practically pushed Nate and I into a room when he got here and then disappeared for hours. Stop trying to act like you are worried about my modesty." Blair swam over to the edge where her dad and Roman were sitting near and splashed water towards his direction. "We are out in the middle of your backyard. You can see us even from the kitchen. Please stop hovering."

Roman stood up, "Come on, Harold. We should go into town and buy some things for dinner. Let them be."

Harold puffed out air, "Fine."

"Love you, Dad," Blair said, swimming back near Dan. As soon as they were out of earshot and eyesight, she wrapped her arms around Dan's next and rested on his back. "If I don't tell him to leave me alone this morning, he will spend the entire week pretending like he's a cool dad and just wanting to hang out. He'll grow to like you. Roman already does and he practically does whatever Roman says."

"I don't want to make it seem like I'm ungrateful by kicking him out of his own backyard," Dan said, holding the back of her knees as he waded through the water.

* * *

Day Three

Dan woke up, his head feeling like it was about to explode. He could barely remember what happened last night but he could tell that whatever did involved a lot of liquor. He rolled over to his side and covered his eyes, pulling the blanket over his head. He could hear the door open and the sound of light footsteps in his room.

"Dan?" Blair's voice came and for the first time since he met her, she seemed unsure.

Dan grunted in return.

"Oh, thank God. I thought you died last night. I had to call Nate to carry you back," she said, climbing over him to put herself between him and the wall. "You need to build up your drinking tolerance."

"What happened last night?"

Blair started to laugh, "You might be better to not remember it."

"Nate carried me back?"

"Carried? Dragged? What's the difference?"

Dan groaned, "Did your dad see me?"

"No," she said, lightly running her fingers over his back. "But I'm sure Nate will tell him all about it. Dan, I've honestly never seen someone throw up that much. I wasn't sure if I should be impressed or disgusted."

"Blair," he moaned. "Don't tell me. I'm mortified if I got sick in front of you."

"And basically the entire club," she said, laughing. "It's fine. Everyone gets sick sometimes. At least you have good aim and got it on Nate's shoes."

Dan pulled the sheet over his head and turned so his back was facing her. "How can you drink so much?"

"I've been drinking since I've been in double digits," she told him, continuing to rub his back. "I'm used to it. I didn't realize that you would try and keep up. It was fun until you started puking."

"Stop saying it," he said, squeezing his eyes shut. "Did I ruin my chances?"

"Dan, I lied to you about continuing to date Nate and you're worried if a little sickness is going to throw me off? Come on. I've seen Nate much worse than that."

"Ooo," Dan said, "tell me about that."

Blair started to talk about adventures with Nate when they were younger and Dan fell asleep to both that and her fingers on his back.

* * *

Day Four

"Dude, you were so wasted," Nate said, laughing as he leaned back in a lounge chair outside of the pool. It was near dusk and the three of them had all been sitting around the pool since noon. "It would have been super funny if Blair hadn't been so worried that she killed you."

Dan tried to laugh but it came out seeming, as it was, very forced. "I guess I'm not made out for Europe style drinking."

Blair reached over and squeezed his forearm, "Don't worry about it. Even Dad was worried about you when you stayed in your room all day yesterday."

"Great. If he didn't like me before, he certainly doesn't like me now."

"Just wear a v-neck," Nate said and Blair turned her head and glared at him. "It was a joke, Blair, just a joke."

"It doesn't matter. He will like you if I like you."

"Dinner is in thirty minutes," Roman called out from the door.

Dan stood up, feeling his skin burning from the sun all day, and grabbed for his towel. "I'm going to go shower," he said, looking at the two of them.

"Me too," Blair said, standing and following Dan into the house. She tugged at his towel, "Come with me."

"Blair," Dan hesitated, looking around the corner to where Harold and Roman were making dinner together. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I do," Blair told him. "You need to loosen up, Dan. It saves water."

Dan placed his hands on her shoulders, "Maybe when we're back in New York and I'm not resting on your father's good graces to keep a roof over my head."

Blair rolled her eyes, "You are no fun."

At dinner that night, Blair rested her hand under the table on Dan's thigh and he had been squirming ever since she placed it there. He was struggling to pay attention as she made circles with her index finger on his inner thigh. "Daddy, did you know Dan graduated at the top of his school for high school?"

Harold glanced at him, "Very nice. I do appreciate high academic honors. Have you ever thought about a more realistic career, Daniel? You could go to law school if you have good enough grades."

"I want to be a writer, sir," Dan said, pushing around his food on the plate. "I think law school might be a little bit of distraction. I also don't have a great sense for arguing,"

"He's a really good writer," Blair confirmed, taking a sip of her wine. Dan glanced at her and she shrugged innocently. "I read a bit in your notebook."

"Well, only some writers ever make any money, Blair Bear."

"I think I'll be much happier with being a writer than a lawyer," Dan said then holding up a hand, "not that there is anything wrong with being a lawyer. I'm just not the type that would be good at it."

Harold just nodded, taking a mouthful of food and Blair removed her hand from his thigh. He wasn't sure if he had turned off Blair with his answer about just wanting to be happy or if she was losing her steam from the tension in the air.

"Well," Nate said, breaking the awkward silence. "I would just like to say that I'm going to head out tomorrow."

"Why?" Harold said, dropping his fork. "We're having a lovely time hosting you."

Nate shrugged, "I think I'm ready to move on from Europe and move on to sailing. A little ocean air might clear my head."

"I think that's a great idea," Blair said. "Let's all raise our glasses to Nate's self awareness."

"Blair," Harold said, glaring at her. "Well, I am very disappointed to see you leave. Roman and I will drive you to the airport and then we are going to spend a few days in Paris, we think."

Blair smiled at her dad and then back to Dan and he could feel that neither of these deliciousns had come solely from the person that announced them. Blair looked like all of her scheming was coming to a head and she looked very pleased with herself.

* * *

Day Five

"It was nice to see you, Nate," Dan said, awkwardly rocking on his toes outside the car. "I'm sure I'll see you around campus."

Nate nodded, and looked around where Blair was in a heated discussion with her dad and Roman about something, and stepped forward. "Look, I'm sorry I've made things weird between us."

Dan shrugged, "It's whatever."

"No, I've acted like a complete asshole lately like Blair is my property and I came here storming in like I was going to save the princess from an ogre."

"I don't think I'm an ogre," Dan said, protesting.

"I think I was the ogre," Nate said, laughing. "I think Blair was right when she broke us up and it took really and truly losing her to realize that. I don't think she's playing a game with my head anymore." Dan nodded and they gave each other a typical bro-hug. "I hope we do see each other around, Dan. You're a good friend. And hopefully good for Blair. After the shit I pulled last year, she deserves it."

Dan clapped him on the back as Roman and Harold turned back around to them. "Ready, Nate?" Roman asked, sliding into the driver's seat. "See you in two days, Dan, when we will be driving you back to the airport."

Nate nodded and gave Dan a last final wave before giving Blair a hug and sitting in the back seat.

As they drove away, Blair and Dan both waving at the back of the car, Blair tugged on Dan's shirt. "Come on, Humphrey," she said, pulling him towards the house. "We have two days and then we won't see each other until September where I am sure I will be very busy with my Ivy League schooling."

Dan let himself be pulled, getting led to Blair's bedroom which he had only seen once before during the full house tour he got the first day. "How much did you have to pay your dad to leave?"

Blair laughed, pulling him over and laying on the bed and pulling him on top of her. "He was practically stomping his foot like a bull before he went with Nate. He was trying to say it was improper for me to say goodbye at the drive way and how I should come with them to Paris." Blair pulled the hem of Dan's shirt up and over his head. "But they're gone and the house is ours and you are mine."

"Am I?"

"Are you want?"

"Yours?"

"Do we really need a label?" she asked, and Dan could feel her fingernails on the bare skin of his back. "If so, well… I don't Skype every day with just friends."

"Good," he said, kissing her collarbone. "Me either."

"Good," she replied. "Come on, Humphrey. We have a lot of lost time to make up for."

* * *

Day Six

"Here's to your last night," Blair said, lifting up her wine glass. "And a very enjoyable week for the both of us, I hope."

"I had a very great time," Dan said, raising his glass. "Even if your dad doesn't like me."

"You need to get over that. He just loves Nate and he'll get over that." She took a sip from her wine and squeezed his knee under the table. "I like you and Roman likes you and majority rules in this house."

Dan smiled, "Well, thank you for inviting me."

"Thank you for coming," she smiled, leaning over the table to give him a brief kiss. Dan rested his hand on the side of her face, entangling his fingers with her hair. "You know, I've never had sex in the bathroom of a very nice restaurant in France."

Dan nodded, "Me either, but I think we're going to have to keep it that way."

"Why? You need to be more adventurous," she said, rubbing his thigh. "I can't believe I'm the one trying to get a guy to take me to a bathroom."

"Well, I am very unique."

"And difficult to get to do anything fun." She leaned over and kissed him again, "It's our last night, Humphrey."

Dan kissed her cheek, before sliding himself back in the chair. "Well, let's eat fast then,"

Blair raised her eyebrows, "Okay. But when we get home, I get to choose where."

Day Seven

Blair's arms were wrapped around his neck and Dan was kissing the side of her head. "Are you sure you want to leave? My dad would love to shell out more money for his favorite college student from Brooklyn."

"What a specific category," Dan said, pulling away from her.

"It was the only one I could think of that you would top," she laughed, leaning in to kiss him.

Dan kissed her briefly back before pulling away to see Blair's father looking on with disapproval. "You'll be back in New York soon, Blair," he said, hugging her. "And I think it's about time you get a tour of Brooklyn."

Blair stepped away from him and Roman came to give Dan a goodbye hug and then Harold took his place. Dan wasn't sure where to look but he didn't want to look at the disapproving face of his girlfriend's father.

"Thank you, again, Mr. Waldorf," Dan said, putting out his hand. He could feel the firm grip of Harold's hand take his. "I've had a great time."

"I'm sure you have, Daniel," Harold said pulling him into a hug. Dan could hear Harold start to whisper furiously into his ear, "If you hurt my Blair Bear, I will fly to New York and personally kill you. I'm not sure what she sees in you but she has exquisite taste and I will have to trust her."

Dan pulled away awkwardly, "Well, thank you. I don't think I'll give you any reason to kill me, but I'll make sure to try extra hard just for that threat."

Harold smiled, "Good boy." He walked backwards and turned to Blair, "He's not so bad, Blair. I think Brooklyn Boy might just pull off the upset."

Blair rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Daddy." She stepped forward again to give Dan one last hug. "See you in September, Dan."

"See you in September, Blair."


	16. Chapter 16

"Dad," Jenny called from the couch, "Dan's doing it again. He's making that weird smile and it's creepy me out. Make him stop." Her leg jutted out and her foot came into contact with Dan's side. "Seriously, you've been such a freak since coming back from France. It's been almost a month, aren't you over it?"

"Come on, Jenny," Rufus said, smiling from the counter. "Dan's in love, let him have his honeymoon stage."

"He's already had his honeymoon," Jenny said as she rolled her eyes. "Can't he be moony in his bedroom? Does he have to bring out his weird grin when we're hanging out as family."

"I'm not in love," Dan protested, as he looked at his phone. Blair's plane was set to land any minute and he was waiting for the crucial text message to tell him to come over, or to meet her somewhere, or anything. He tapped his leg impatiently as Jenny continued to dig her heel into his side. Finally, he swatted at her leg, "Stop, Jen."

"Stop, Jen," she mocked, sitting up straight. "Aren't you supposed to be moving in to your new dorm room this weekend? Why are you still taking up Dad and my space?"

"Next weekend," he said, pressing the home button on his phone again. "And I live here too, you know."

"Which is a shame because I have big ideas of making your bedroom into an art studio. Dad said I could if you moved out permanently."

"Dad," Dan complained, throwing his hands up.

"I said when you moved out, Dan," Rufus said with a chuckle. "That won't be for a long, long time, I am sure."

Dan's phone started to light up but he was disappointed to see Vanessa's name instead of Blair's. Dan stood from the couch and made his way to his bedroom.

"Oooh, Dad," Jenny called out, "he needs his privacy."

"Hello," Dan answered the phone, covering the mouth piece so he could yell to Jenny that it was Vanessa. "Vanessa?"

"Hey," came the voice from the other side. "I was hoping you were free to get together tonight. I'm leaving in the morning. Short notice but one of my professors from last year is doing this video project and reached out to his top students to see if they would be interested."

Dan took a sharp breath in, "Yeah, I would but-"

"Blair?" Vanessa answered for him, sounding disappointed. "That's fine. Just wanted to see if you were free but if you're not, it's whatever. I should probably pack anyways."

"No, it's fine," Dan said. He technically had no plans, just plans that he had made in his head. "Let's hang out. Want to get dinner?"

"At the sushi place near your place?" Vanessa said, her voice becoming more cheery. "That sounds great. Ask Jenny if she wants to come to."

"Yeah, I'll her know. See you at say 7?"

Dan hung up the phone and just as he did, it started to ring again. Blair. Dan rubbed his temples, trying to figure out how to tell her that he had made plans already for the night he knew she was returning. "Hey, Blair," he said, sitting on his bed.

"Dan," Blair said, her voice sounding strained. "I just landed. I know we kind of talked about getting together tonight but I am so tired. Some couple thought it was a good idea to bring their barely out of the womb child into first class and it cried the entire time."

"It?"

"I can't tell if it's a boy or a girl, Humphrey, and I wasn't going to get close enough that I could tell for sure."

"Don't they usually color code them?"

"I don't know, Humphrey," she said sounding exasperated. "Maybe they were progressive parents. Look, I'm really sorry, but maybe we can get together tomorrow?"

"That's fine," Dan said, relief flooding his body. "I told Vanessa I would get dinner with her tonight, she's leaving tomorrow."

He knew it was the wrong thing to say as he heard Blair take a sharp breath in, "You already made plans?"

"Tentative plans," Dan tried to cover his tracks. "Just place holder plans."

"I've suddenly found a burst of energy," Blair said, sounding annoyed. "Where's dinner?"

"Blair," Dan said, trying to figure out how to get himself out of this in the best way. When he realized he couldn't come up with a lie or excuse fast enough, he gave her the details.

"See you at 7, Humphrey," Blair said coolly.

* * *

"She seems like a handful," Rufus said, pulling Dan back into the loft as Blair and Jenny made their way to the elevator. "Are you sure she won't distract you from your studies this year?"

Dan nodded, "I managed to pull through last year, Dad. And she's just tired. She flew in from France today. Landed at 4, which is 10 PM France time."

"Right," Rufus said, nodding. "Well, good luck."

"Why good luck?" Dan asked.

Rufus laughed, "I think you are in over your head, Dan. She didn't come here, I don't think, to spend time with you but to mark her territory."

Dan tried to laugh, "She's not a dog."

His dad just patted his shoulder before showing him the door, "As I said, good luck."

* * *

"So, Blair," Vanessa said, trying to fill in the awkward silence that had taken over the dinner conversation. "How was your trip?"

Blair smiled, squeezing Dan's thigh under the table just a little too hard for his liking, "It was great. Especially when Dan visited."

"I'm sure," Vanessa responded. "He's great company. You know, we've been friends since we were kids. Ever since I moved to Brooklyn really."

"How sweet," Blair said, giving her a smile that even Dan could point out as a fake. "How was your summer, Vanessa?"

"It was great," Vanessa said, reaching for her drink and taking a long sip. "I hung out with Dan a lot."

Dan could feel Blair's nails digging into his jeans now and felt Jenny's foot kick his shin from across the table. He suddenly comprehended why his dad had said good luck to him. He was in the middle of some kind of ritual between Vanessa and Blair, both trying to state their dominance over him. He felt like a helpless part of the conversation, like an animal in a cage at the zoo. When he used to fantasize about women fighting over him, he had never factored in to the equation the awkwardness he would feel when he was forced to sit through it.

"You know, we just hung out as friends doing friendly things," Dan stuttered through his sentence and he could see Jenny roll her eyes from over the table. "Just friends," he repeated.

"I'm sure she got it all on camera," Blair noted. "She sure does love to document things."

"I'm right here," Vanessa protested, narrowing her eyes at Blair.

"That's in the past," Dan interrupted. "We're all over it. Right?" He looked hopefully between them. Vanessa was nodding while Blair was shaking her head.

"It ruined my life," Blair stated, releasing Dan's thigh and placing her hands on the table. "So no, I don't think I'm over it."

"Well, look at the bright side," Jenny tried to diffuse the situation, "you're now dating my brother and sitting in Brooklyn having this conversation. I say we're all winners."

"Right, thank you, Jenny," Dan said, nodding with her. "All of us together, breaking bread."

"You know," Blair said, pushing away from the table, "I don't feel like breaking bread and I'm not really in the mood for this. I'm tired and this is bullshit." Blair stood and walked out from the restaurant.

Dan looked at Vanessa, who looked uninterested and was staring at her silverware, and Jenny who was pointing to the door, "Go get her, you idiot."

"I'll be back," Dan said, standing and following Blair out the door. Blair was trying to hail a cab and doing a miserable job of it. "Blair?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Dan," Blair said, her arm waving in the air.

Dan stepped to her cautiously, "I just, I wanted to… I don't know. Apologize?"

"You sound really sincere in wanting to apologize," Blair responded, trying to flag down the taxi that was coming towards them but kept driving. She turned around and glared at him, "I don't feel like listening to bullshit right now."

"It's not bullshit," he said, shoving his hands in his front pockets. "It was awkward in there."

"You think?" she laughed, cruelly and loudly. "You know what it's awkward, calling you and you already having plans with another girl who I don't exactly like that much. It's like Nate and Serena all over again."

"It's not like that at all," he protested, stepping towards her again. She glared at him and he froze in place. "Vanessa and I are just friends."

"You know what I was thinking about," she said, finally putting her arm down. "That conversation about what this was and me saying I don't just video call my friends daily. You and Vanessa Skype all the time when we're in school. And now you already had plans with her when I called to cancel. Tell me I'm reading too far into it," she dared him.

Dan opened his mouth before rubbing his eyes, "It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

"We're just friends. She's leaving tomorrow and she called me right before you did."

"How does that make it better, Dan? You realize where I'm coming from, right? I spent the last year of my relationship getting cheated on and told that someone was just a friend. A relationship of lies and half truths is not what I want and to start it off like that, don't you think it's a bad sign?"

"You lied to me to start it off," Dan protested.

"Right, so maybe this isn't going to work then. I'm already lying and you're already replacing me with a 'friend'," She made air quotes around the word friend and put her hand up back in the air.

Dan took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "It's not like that. It wasn't a lie."

"What would you have done if I said I wanted to hang out tonight?"

"Cancelled on Vanessa."

"Really?" she challenged.

Dan shrugged, "I don't know. Told you the truth about Vanessa leaving like I did? Invite you along? Blair, I spent most of my time in France with your dad talking up Nate who was hanging around. I am an expert, I think now, on awkward dinners, but I have no romantic background with or interest in Vanessa, none. I didn't know she was leaving tomorrow until today. Things happen and I'm sorry that I messed up already."

Blair lowered her arm again and took a tentative step towards him, "Look, I'm tired and jet-lagged and all I want to do is go home and sleep and maybe letting my past relationship taint whatever this is already."

"Well, I can't really blame you there," Dan said, stepping forwards and embracing her, feeling her fingernails go down his back and being, momentarily, transferred back to her bedroom in France. "I'm sorry that tonight was so shitty. Let me take you out tomorrow."

"Okay," Blair said, nodding. "But, can you please get me a cab? I swear they know I'm from the Upper East Side."

* * *

"How was it?" Rufus asked from his place on the couch, looking up from his novel.

"A disaster," Jenny said cheerfully as she jumped onto the couch. "I thought I was going to see Dan shit his pants from nerves."

"That's disgusting, Jen," Dan said, heading towards his bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Rufus called towards him.

Dan looked back, "You were right about needing luck, Dad. I need luck and right now, a lot of advil." Dan closed his bedroom door behind him and sunk into his bed. He closed his eyes and fell asleep to Jenny's muffled voice retelling the night to his Dad in vivid details.


	17. Chapter 17

"You know," Blair said, assessing the room and running a finger over Dan's desk where a pile of books were already stacked, "this isn't too bad. I mean, it's bad but it's not that bad."

"That's reassuring," Dan said from his spot on his bed, his hands behind his head as he rested against the concrete. "It's even smaller than last years room and I didn't think that was even possible."

"At least you didn't walk into your roommate having sex with his girlfriend," Blair said, smirking at him before perching herself on the desk. "Why don't you just live off campus? Or save money, which you always complain about, and live with your dad?"

Dan raised his eyebrows, "And kill the little social life I've cultivated here?" Dan looked towards the empty bed, "I wonder who I'll get this year?"

Blair shrugged, "Who cares? I'll scare them off and it will be basically like you have a single. We can turn that ben into a couch. I mean, it's going to be an uncomfortable couch with the flimsy excuses they have for mattresses, but it would do."

"You didn't scare me off."

"That's because you were in love with me from the moment you saw me," Blair teased, pushing herself off of the desk and walking towards him. "I should go and see how the move is going into my apartment."

Dan pushed himself off the wall and leaned forwards, "Or you could trust that the people you hired are following your very specific directions. If they put a plate out of place, you can blame me," he said, leaning in and brushing his lips against hers. "Wouldn't it be more fun if you just stayed here?"

Blair sighed, letting her lips rest on his before pulling away slowly. "It would be but how am I to trust average movers with my valuables?"

"Don't you have Dorota looking after it?"

"Yes, but-"

Dan rolled his eyes, grabbing her face gently and kissing her. Blair, who he would have guessed was just protesting to protest, eagerly returned this kiss. Her hands rested on his shoulders before wrapping around and burying her fingers in his hair. In the last week, they had barely seen each other after Blair's mother had surprised her with her own apartment near Columbia. Blair had been distracted by charging things to her mother's credit card and furnishing her apartment with only the best (no Ikea furniture to be found) that she had not yet cashed in on the dinner that Dan "owed" her in return for the disastrous dinner with Vanessa.

Blair pulled away slightly to raise herself on to the bed, her legs straddling Dan as she started to pull on his shirt. "You know, this would be more comfortable in my nicely air conditioned apartment."

"But that would be cheating us the college experience."

"Christening a new dorm room?"

"I was going with sex on the uncomfortable mattresses but I guess that would work too," Dan said, brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes.

He leaned in, placing a series of kisses on her collar bone as she leaned her head back. "We could just count this and go," Blair said, resting her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sure they've unpacked my bedroom set by now."

Dan pulled back, "You really want to go check on your apartment?"

Blair pouted, "Yes. I want to make sure that everything is where I want it to be while there are big, strong men to help me."

"What do I look like?"

She paused and looked like she was straining to find words that wouldn't insult him, "You're a man."

"Just a man."

"You are just of slight built although no less manly then the ones that are jacked up on steroids currently lugging my dresser up the stairs because it wouldn't fit in the elevator."

"That was oddly specific."

Blair pulled her hand back from where it had been resting and guilty showed him her cell phone in her hand, "Dorota's been giving me updates. She's worried that they put my bed on the wrong wall."

Dan put his hands besides him, "I guess I can't argue with a bed crisis."

Blair looked pleased, "I knew you were reasonable." She leaned in to give him a quick kiss before they both turned their heads quickly as the door knob started to move.

"Honey, I'm home," came a familiar voice as the door was pushed open.

"Nate?" Dan and Blair both said at the same time as Blair hurriedly got off of Dan. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you guys practice that?" Nate said, laughing jovially as he ran a hand through his hair, which was falling in his eyes ever so slightly that Dan was pinging with jealousy.

Here, Dan was, thinking his sophomore year was going to go so well with the girl of his dreams already by his side, and now a wrench in his plans. He narrowed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't just projecting his nightmare on his new roommate but when he widened them, Nate still was staring back.

"You look like you saw a ghost," Nate said as he dragged his bag through the door. "And a ghost of maybe a mortal enemy and not like your best friend from last year."

Dan swung his legs over the side of the bed and placed his feet on the cold floor, "I'm just… shocked to see you in a dorm, Nate. I thought your dad agreed to have you not live in a dorm… it was for peasants or something like that."

Blair let out a small cough as she slipped on her shoes, "Well, this has been fun. I need to go check on… a bed situation. I'll see you later, Dan," she said, kissing him on the cheek before looking at Nate, "and I guess I'll be seeing you later as well, Nate, if this isn't some cruel joke."

"No joke, Blair," Nate said, still smiling wide. "Just a nice coincidence."

Once Blair exited the room, Nate turned to Dan, "Maybe not a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Dan said, sitting at his desk and fumbling with the pens that Blair had neatly lined up.

Nate shrugged, pushing his hair out of his eyes, "I just might have had my dad call in a favor. You see, I realized that part of the reason I did so well last year was because of the dorm situation and my genius roommate who only wanted to study. So my dad called the Dean, an old family friend, and said how well we hit it off and how I was regretting deciding that I didn't want to live on campus and he managed to shuffle things a bit. Your roommate that was supposed to be here looked like a real dweeb from his picture," Nate said, placing his bag on his bed. "You should thank me."

"Thank you?"

"You're welcome," Nate said, nodding. "It's going to be a really fun year, Dan, I can already tell."

"Right," Dan said, his voice soft, "a really fun year."

* * *

Dan was lying next to Blair, his shirt and pants sitting on the ground next to the bed, as he pondered his new living situation. "Do you think he's just fucking with us?"

"Who?" Blair murmered, her head resting on Dan's shoulder and her eyes fluttering as she battled to stay away.

"Nate. I mean, why would he want to live in the same bedroom as me?"

"I mean, you lived with him all last year and managed."

"It's different." Dan could feel Blair shrug against him. "It is," he continued. "You two were engaged and now you're not."

"I mean, you can't exactly get a new roommate now," Blair said, yawning. "Nate was barely there last year and if he was there, it was because I was sick of my own campus. I'm sure he's just going to use it like a locker in high school. I don't think he's going to make a home there. If you think about it, he's really doing you a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yeah, now you have a private space for yourself that you don't have to really share."

"Maybe he's going to be there more?"

Blair laughed, "No, he won't be. He might be at Serena's or at his home, but I swear he won't be sleeping there. He'll probably pop in to make you off balanced, but I wouldn't expect him to be a permanent resident of room 504."

"So he is fucking with us."

"You," she countered.

"What?"

"He's fucking with you. He's not really affecting me."

"What do you mean, he's not affecting you?"

"I have my own place, Dan," she clarified, sitting up slightly and resting her chin on his chest. "I'll never see him. He's just fucking with you."

"Cool," Dan sighed, leaning his head against her headboard. "Just fucking great."

"Look at the bright side, you have a hot girlfriend with an apartment all to herself. It's not exactly like you are living a hard life."

"I would like to not have to see my hot girlfriend's equally as good looking ex-fiance every time I came home from class."

"So just don't go to class," Blair teased, before leaning back down and nestling her head into his arm. "Look, we'll figure it out," she said, slapping his bare chest with her hand, "just not tonight. I am extremely tired from moving all day."

"You had movers," Dan responded, sounding confused.

"Don't take away from my pain," Blair said, turning away from him. "Just because I didn't physically move doesn't mean it was any less taxing on my soul."


	18. Chapter 18

"I'm drunk," Blair proclaimed, throwing her arms out and running her fingers along the dorm hallway. They had gone to a party of one of Dan's friends from a writing class last semester and Blair had decided halfway through that she was too tired to go all the way back to her apartment and that couldn't they, just for once, go back to Dan's.

Dan had been avoiding his dorm room any time he was hanging out with Blair. It wasn't hard to do. There was never a time Blair had asked to go back to his place, preferring the comfort of her own apartment that didn't have an ex boyfriend residing in it. Nate had been perfectly cordial as a roommate, Dan would have to admit. But, still, the idea of bringing Blair back to a room where Nate may or may not have been sleeping didn't sit with him right.

But he also knew better than to argue, especially with a specific request of Blairs. After all, the party was only a block away from his dorm room and it didn't make any sense to go back to hers, even if it was guaranteed empty. It also was less of a bother because in this state, both of them being piss drunk, there was absolutely no chance of anything happening besides sleep.

"Shh," Dan said, turning around and putting his finger to his lips. "People are sleeping."

Blair playfully reached out to swat his arm, "It's a Saturday night, Daniel Humphrey. You are the only person in the city of New York that generally goes to bed at 10 P.M on a Saturday. I know elementary school children with more will to live than you."

Dan stopped walking, Blair looking at a bulletin board on the wall walked right into him. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is," she said, sticking her tongue out before leaning up to kiss him. "Where is your room, Dan?"

Dan looked around, noting the room numbers they were near. "Oh, we passed it. Back this way," he said, flinging his arm up and pointing to the way that they had come.

He felt Blair's arms wrap around his back as he walked, slightly dragging her behind him. Blair pressed her cheek into his back, "You smell good."

"Now I know you are drunk," he said, chuckling, before turning to a door. "Here we are." Dan fumbled in his pocket, looking for his key and finding nothing. Starting to panic, Dan started pulling at the fabric inside of the pocket and still coming up empty.

Blair cleared her throat, "What's wrong?"

"I don't have my key," Dan said, sheepishly.

She pulled her arms away from him."What do you mean?" she said sharply as Dan turned to face her, pushing his back against the door. "Oh, Dan, you're serious?"

Dan held up his empty hands. "I must have left them on my desk when we left."

"Why do you even lock your door? It's not like you have anything of value to be stolen," she said harshly.

"One man's trash-"

"Stop," Blair said, putting her hands up to her temples. "Can you wake your RA?"

Dan shrugged, "I guess. I don't know who's on duty tonight."

"Don't you have like an office?"

"They have to sleep too," Dan said, running his hand through his hair. He turned back to the door and placed his forced head on the cool wood before lifting his fist to knock. Hitting the door a couple of times, he pressed his ear against it, trying to hear if anyone is stirring inside.

Blair leaned against the door too, pressing her ear against the door next to him. "I don't hear anything. How often does Nate stay here?"

Dan shrugged, "Enough. He's probably out."

"Then we should call him."

"Can we just go back to your place?"

"Dan, I'm tired. It will take more time to find a car to take us there than it would for you just to pick up the phone and call Nate."

Dan groaned, reaching in his back pocket where his phone was. "I really don't want to call."

"And I don't want to sleep in the hallway of this dorm."

Dan lifted his phone, finding Nate in his contacts and pressing Send. After a few seconds, he placed his phone down. "Nothing. Voicemail."

Blair grabbed her own phone from inside her bag and dialed Nate. After a few seconds, she raised her eyebrows, "Nate. Can you come back to your dorm room? Dan got us locked out." She paused, tapping her fingers against the door, before speaking again, "Great, see you then. Thanks!"

"He's coming?"

"He's upstairs apparently," she said, shrugging. "I can't believe this is happening."

Dan nodded, not knowing what to say, and was then distracted by the presence of footsteps and a familiar face… actually, two faces. "Hey, Nate… and Serena."

Serena, who had been following behind Nate by a couple of steps, raised her hand in greeting. "Hey, Dan… and Blair."

"Serena," Blair said, cooly, before giving a warm hug to Nate. Dan was hoping it was his imagination but he saw, or thought he saw, Blair look directly at Serena as she embraced her ex-fiance. "Thanks for coming, Nate. You're a lifesaver."

"I mean I wouldn't go that far," Dan grumbled, stepping away from the door so Nate could put his key in. "But, thanks, man. Blair was getting worried we would have to sleep in the hallway."

Nate laughed, pushing the door open for them and looking at Blair, "I wouldn't let that happen."

Dan and Serena shared a glance before Dan walked into the room. "Well, thanks again…"

He just wanted both Nate and Serena to leave and thankfully, Nate looked back at Serena who gave a small tilt of the head. "Yeah, we should be going. Serena has some friends over besides me. I probably won't be back tonight," he said, slapping Dan on the back, "so have fun, you two. Don't let this ruin your night."

"It's already ruined," Blair said, stepping into the room and scanning the furniture for the key. "My perfect buzz came crashing down."

Nate shrugged, walking out of the room and as Dan went to close the door, he could see Nate and Serena intertwine their fingers as they walked away. He was curious, and if he considered him and Nate friends he might have asked, if it was Serena's idea to come down together and if so, was it Nate's to walk without holding hands?

Closing the door and turning back to Blair, who had already rummaged through one of his drawers and emerged with a t-shirt, "Look, I'm sorry."

Blair shook her head, "It's fine, I'm just tired."

"It was fun before that, right?" Dan said, nervous of the answer.

She ignored the question, "Do you have toothpaste?" She lifted up her toothbrush which must have been in her normal sized bag, as she had just brought a clutch out. Dan nodded, grabbing his toothbrush as well before leading her out of the room (after making sure the door was unlocked) and pointed her towards the women's bathroom.

When Dan returned from the bathroom, the lights were already off and Blair was already tucked in his bed, facing the wall.

* * *

"Dan," Blair said, sitting in his desk chair. Nate was on the other bed, having returned to the room the next morning reeking of the dining hall where Dan suspected he had gone with Serena. Dan looked at Blair,who very surprisingly, after giving him the almost silent treatment all through their own breakfast, looked embarrassed. Blair pulled out a key from her clutch, "I think I might have had your key the entire time."

Dan raised his eyebrows, laughing slightly. "I don't believe it."

"Dan, I'm so sorry," Blair said, throwing her hands up. "I swear I didn't know, or at least remember, I took it."

Dan nodded, trying to muster up any annoyance he could find to childishly retaliate to her behavior from the night before that carried over to this morning but could find none. "It's fine, Blair. It's not a big deal."

Blair looked stricken, "I really am so sorry. I acted really terribly."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Blair looked cross and Dan shrugged at her. "I'm not going to lie, you were not exactly warm and fuzzy over it."

"Yeah, well, I blame the vodka that you were giving me."

"Giving you? You practically ripped the bottle out of my hand!"

Blair gave a small shrug of one shoulder before walking over to his bed and pressing they key into his palm. "I said I'm sorry, okay?" she said, leaning over and giving him a brief kiss. "I have to go, I told my mom I would meet her this afternoon and I need to go shower somewhere that I don't need to wear flip-flops too."

Dan leaned up, pressing his hand on her neck and kissing her again, "It's fine, I swear. I'll talk to you later."

She nodded, giving a small wave to Nate before exiting the room.

Nate lowered the magazine that he had been reading, or at least pretending to read. "Did she give you shit all through breakfast for it?"

"I would have preffered that," Dan said, leaning down in his bed and closing his eyes. "Silent treatment."

"A Waldorf speciality," Nate said. "It used to drive me absolutely bonkers."

Dan opened one eye, looking at Nate across the room, "I'm not doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Commiserating over Blair with you. It's weird."

He could see Nate turn to look at him, "I'm just trying to be a friend."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door before it flew open, "Nate, are you ready? Oh, hey, Dan," Serena's voice rung through the room breaking through the weird tension that had formed between the two guys.

Nate hopped off the bed, hitting Dan's bed with his hand before crossing the room to his waiting girlfriend, at least Dan assumed thats what Serena was, "Yeah. See you, roommate," Nate said, putting emphasis on the last word as he closed the door and left with Serena.


	19. Chapter 19

After Blair's SOS call to Nate, Dan's roommate made himself more present and Dan was certain the two things were connected. Before, Dan saw Nate maybe a couple of times a week and even though he was always surprised when he saw Nate, the nights he had the room to himself out numbered the nights that Nate was present.

Blair refused to acknowledge the connection, that or she didn't even notice, as she was still refusing to make her way to NYU anymore than she had to. She was being spared from the horrors that Dan would say he had to witness. By horrors, he really meant walking in on Nate in compromising positions with girls who were definitely not Serena.

And, while that would have been awful just as, he was running into Nate in these positions at the most inconvenient times. It was usually the night before a big exam or when he just wanted to sleep. Dan had spent a couple of nights in the library, passed out on a notebook and waking up with spirals dug into his skin. He knew that he could have gone to Brooklyn, but with the amount of 8 A.M classes he had mistakenly signed up for, the trek back into the city every day wasn't worth it.

Then there was the option of sleeping at Blair's. This, he would argue, was a non-option. Not only would have have to admit to Blair that he was having troubles with Nate as a roommate, which he tried to avoid complaining about since Blair called Nate to let them in, but he would also have to ask her to sleep over. He wasn't sure they were there yet.

That's not to say they weren't having sleepovers. They were. On weekends and nights when Blair asked him to come over but that was the difference. Their sleepovers almost always happened on their terms and while Blair had been confident enough to say she was going to sleep in his dorm the night they went out, Dan was still walking on tip toes around their relationship as he tried to figure out the boundaries. He wasn't sure whining about his girlfriend's ex boyfriend and his sleeping arrangement was a smart idea. He wanted to look like he could handle anything that or he was unbothered by everything.

These were the circumstances he found himself on a Thursday in October where he both wanted to sleep and study more and was resigned to sitting outside his room while Nate and a brunette were behind the door. He at least credited himself with the smarts of grabbing what he needed to study before he let himself in the room, the glare of Nate burning a hole into Dan's back as Dan tried to get everything he needed to set up his own study in the hallway.

Dan rubbed his eyes with his fists, trying to stifle a yawn, and looking over the notes that were in his lap. He was certain he had already read this page but he remembered none of it. This was not boding well for his exam tomorrow and if he couldn't get any sleep, then he wasn't even sure he could pull off a passing grade.

He had been outside the room for at least an hour and he was certain that at this point, Nate was just sitting behind the door and laughing at him. Maybe sharing a story with the girl of the week about how Dan "stole" his girlfriend and now he was stealing his sleep. Dan closed his eyes and could picture it, Nate looking smug as he sat in his bed, the girl looking at the door and wondering when she could leave. Dan opened his eyes, suddenly convinced that yes, Nate was holding this poor girl hostage and that was a sign that Dan should bust in.

And then he heard a moan.

He groaned himself, gently hitting the back of his head against the concrete wall.

"Dan?"

Dan looked up, seeing a mess of wet blond hair and Serena's face, looking concerned as she looked down at him. "Oh… hey. What are you doing on this floor?"

"All of the showers are occupied upstairs. Apparently it's a popular time to try and shower without running into pervy guys hoping you drop your towel. Did you lose your key again? Do you want me to call Nate?" she asked, fiddling with the phone in her hand.

Dan shook his head before pushing his hands against the floor and rising up. "I'm just waiting-," Dan paused looking between the door and Serena. "Never mind. I was just studying… Nate is-"

"Occupied?" she said, cutting him off before flashing a smile in his direction. "It's fine, Dan, we're not really together." Serena turned towards the door and started banging her fist on it.

"It's fine," Dan said, putting his hand out but Serena waved him away.

"It's not fine," she responded, continuing to hit the door with her fist. "Nate has a perfectly fine place he can bring girls to and yet he chooses to bring them here. It's fucked up."

Dan started to speak again, "No, really, it's fine-" Serena turned, glaring slightly, and he could see her eyes watering up and he stopped protesting. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said before whipping her head back to the door which was now being pulled open.

Nate stood there in his boxers only, his hair standing up on all sides, "What? Oh, Serena-"

"Let Dan in to sleep," Serena said, looking past Nate at the girl who was dressing behind him. "Hey Rebecca. See you in class tomorrow."

"Can't wait," the other girl said meekly, as Serena walked away from the door and back down the hallway.

Nate stepped out in to the hallway, "Serena-"

Dan pushed past Nate in the doorway and put his notebook on the desk before climbing into his bed fully clothed. With all the nights he spent in the library, he couldn't remember a time he changed into pajamas before bed now.

Nate reappeared a few minutes later as the girl pulled on her last shoe. Dan heard some muffled goodbyes as he pulled a blanket over his body and closed his eyes tight.

"Look, man," he heard Nate say and Dan flipped to his side to look at his roommate and one-time friend. "I know it looks like I'm being really shitty to Serena."

"Nate, to be honest, I don't care," Dan said, his voice already groggy with sleep. "I just want to get a good night sleep. I don't want to know about your dalliances with all the girls in the dorm, including Serena."

Nate took a sharp breath in, "Well, then, you should know that I've realized that through all of these dalliances with other girls… no one is right for me besides Blair."

Dan sighed, "Didn't we do this over the summer? And you decided to respectfully bow out?"

"She's not a prize to be won, Dan."

Dan opened his eyes, "That's not what I was saying and you know that."

Nate shrugged innocently. "I just think that now I've really realized the error of my ways and I'm going to do anything to win her back."

"You realize you are saying this after literally just having sex with another girl right in that bed."

"And in yours," Nate said, smirking.

Dan jumped from his bed, throwing the sheet off of him. "You're fucking kidding."

"Am I?" Nate asked, climbing into his own bed.

* * *

"Come in," Blair said, rubbing her eyes as she opened the door to her apartment for Dan. "You know, you are so lucky that I forgot to turn my phone on silent."

Blair was dressed in one of Dan's shirts and nothing else and he was silently pleased that was what she chose to go to bed in. "I'm sorry for waking you, Blair," he stuttered out a half apology as he followed her into the bedroom. He had been this close to calling Serena instead and seeing if he could borrow her floor or maybe she would have a spare set of sheets, he was taking no chances, but if Nate's proclamation was true (the Blair one, not the bed one) then he wasn't going to risk anything going back to Blair that could be perceived wrongly.

Blair shrugged, "My classes tomorrow start at noon. It's not that big of a deal." He watched her as she climbed into her bed, turning on to her stomach. "Did you bring clothes? I think I have a small pile of things you've left here on that chair," she said, lazily lifting her finger as her eyes fluttered shut.

Dan quickly changed into a t-shirt and shorts that he had left there, and apparently had forgotten about, and climbed into her bed. A sigh of relief passed his lips as he slipped beneath the sheets, letting his hand rest on Blair's lower back.

"You know you don't have to ask," Blair said, mumbling into the pillow. "To come over, I mean. I mean, you do because you need me to let you in but you don't have to be so apologetic about wanting to sleep over."

Dan kissed her temple as he settled into her much more comfortable bed. He thought her a mind reader until the phone call he made as he nervously stood outside his room flashed back in his head. He must have apologized a million times when she had picked up. "I don't know," he said, tracing his fingers against her bare skin. "Hey, have you talked to Nate at all?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Blair perked her head up slightly, opening her eyes, "Why would I have any reason, besides being locked out of your apartment, to talk to Nate?"

Dan shrugged, pulling her closer to him and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Nothing."

"Dan, tell me."

"He just seems to have some kind of second wind about you two belonging together?" Blair started to laugh. "It's not that funny."

"Second wind? How about, like, twentieth wind? Take it from one spoiled Upper East Sider about another, we just don't like seeing what we perceive to be ours with someone else."

Dan nodded, trying to look confident but his tiredness was no match for his insecurities.

Blair leaned in and kissed him, rubbing the back of his neck with her fingers. "I promise, he'll be over it in a week and go back to chasing Serena. It's too bad you have that test tomorrow morning because your jealousy is kind of turning me on."

"Blair," Dan said before she silenced him with another kiss.

"Goodnight, Dan," she said before flipping over and pressing her body against his.

Dan wrapped his arm around her, settling his chin into the crook of her shoulder and closed his eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

"Why do you look so dressed up?" Vanessa asked and Dan could see her physically leaning in to her computer screen.

Dan shrugged, "It's Blair's birthday. Well, actually, it's still a month away but her dad is in town and wanted to take her out for dinner for her birthday. So we're pretending."

"Did you get her a present?" Dan's face must have contorted quickly into a look of concern because Vanessa started to laugh. "I'm sure she's not expecting one. Actually, I would think maybe she is expecting one. Girls like Blair always want presents."

"That's not true," he protested, leaning back in his chair and straightening his tie. "I've never gotten her a present."

"Then I have no idea why she is still with you."

Dan held up a finger as he could hear the doorknob starting to turn. Unfortunately for him, Nate entered the room, fiddling with his keys as he dropped his books on to his desk. Dan turned back to the computer, grabbing for his headphones so Nate could only hear half of the conversation.

Since Nate's proclamation of his intention to get back with Blair, Dan had chosen the full on ignoring route. Nate quickly followed suit and they had resigned themselves to quick hello's if there was company in the room. Dan did not consider Vanessa to be actual company so he did not even fake being polite. He had not told Vanessa about the icy tension between the two guys but as soon as he managed to get his headphones in the jack, she raised her eyebrows and commented on it.

"Well, aren't you the best of friends," Vanessa said, leaning back in her chair but Dan could see that she was smirking.

Dan sighed, "I should go. Blair is supposed to be here soon."

"Maybe you have time to go get her an NYU t-shirt before she gets there," Vanessa teased. "I'm sure she would love showing off around New York the non-Ivy league her boyfriend from Brooklyn goes to."

"Bye, Vanessa," Dan said, removing his headphones just in time to hear the door opening for the second time. "Blair," he said, smiling as he stood up. He looked down at his outfit and put his arms out, "Is this classy enough?"

Blair gave him a sweet nod before glancing at his computer screen, "I missed my other best friend from Brooklyn? What a shame."

Dan could sense the sarcasm in her voice, she had still not forgiven his faux pas of double booking plans the day she got back from France, but chose to ignore it. He took in his girlfriend who was looking stunning in a black dress with simple jewlery as accents and attempted to whistle.

"Don't hurt yourself," Blair said, scrunching up her face and starting to laugh. She turned towards Nate, who was looking through his drawers aimlessly. "I hear you are joining us," she said, her voice wooden.

Dan glanced at his roommate, who stood and looked at Dan, "I was going to surprise him."

"You're an ass," Blair said, distaste lacing every word. "Come on, Dan, the car is waiting."

"Wait, Nate is coming?" Dan said, looking probably like he just got hit by a truck and feeling it at the same time.

"Blair's dad asked me. I would never deny Harold the pleasure of my company."

Before Dan could say another word, Blair quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room. "Don't give my dad any more reason to prefer Nate over you by being late," she said, leading him out of the dorm.

"What reason did I give him in the first place?"

"The fact you're not Nate is enough," Blair told him, her words sticking together as she rushed through the hallway and down the stairs. "Brooklyn is a double strike."

"When are people going to get over this Brooklyn thing?" Dan said, huffing.

Blair turned to him as they reached the door, "Never." She quickly glanced over him, pulling at his sleeve and then his tie and finally brushing his shoulders. "Now put on a happy face and please just don't engage Nate at dinner." Blair leaned into him, her hand running down his chest and letting her lips brush his earlobe. I'll reward you handsomely if you perform well."

* * *

"Blair bear," Harold said, standing from the table to embrace his daughter. Dan reached out his hand to Blair's father who took it limply, giving him a curt smile, before turning back to his daughter. "Don't you look lovely. I figured you would grab Nate while you were already at NYU."

Dan watched Blair's face as she gave a tight smile to her father, taking her seat next to him, "Yes, well, he wasn't ready and I didn't want to make you wait."

"So you left him there?" Harold asked, sitting down and looking between Blair and his husband, Roman. "Can you believe that, Roman?"

Harold's much younger husband gave a small shrug before shooting an apologetic look towards Dan, "Well, she wasn't the one who invited him, Harold. Maybe we should have picked him up instead."

"Maybe, then he wouldn't have missed the champagne that's being brought over."

Blair reached for her water glass, "Well, daddy, what a pity that will be."

For the next ten minutes, Dan remained mostly silent as the trio of them talked about France, Blair's grades and the plan for when they were returning back to the States (Harold promised a longer trip next time and Dan, for one, just couldn't wait). He was starting to wonder if he should have faked an illness (was bird flu serious enough to get him out of this dinner?) when he saw Harold's eyes widen and Roman start to chuckle. Dan looked behind him to take in the fuss when he spotted Nate and, right behind Nate, Serena.

"Fucking Nate," Blair said under her breath and Dan reached out to give her hand, under the table, a quick squeeze.

"Sorry we're late," Nate said, coming around the table to give Harold a hug. Dan watched as Nate's hands rested on the back of Blair's chair as he went into a long winded apology about getting home late and Serena forgetting what time dinner was at.

Dan hadn't realized it when they arrived but now looked around the table and saw that it was, in fact, set for six. He had thought it was because it was a round table and they were making it look even,but he could see his miscalculations. He glanced at Blair who was staring straight ahead and refusing to acknowledge Serena or Nate.

"Hey, Dan," Serena said, her voice low as she took the empty seat next to him. Dan couldn't tell which would have been worse, having to sit next to Nate all night or having Blair in such close proximity to Serena. He preferred Serena but he thought that maybe, for the sake of the night, he should have wished for Nate.

"Serena," Dan answered, smiling at the blonde who was pushing a stray hair out of her eyes. "I didn't realize you two were back together."

Serena shrugged, "Complicated, I guess."

Dan could see Blair roll her eyes out of his peripheral vision. He glanced towards her to catch her staring at her father, who was taking his seat again. Harold put his hands up innocently as though he had nothing to do with the situation.

"So, Serena, are you here to celebrate my birthday?" Blair said, without moving her eyes from her father.

Serena laughed nervously and Dan felt for her slightly, although he had to wonder what she had expected. "I didn't know that was the occasion, if I'm being honest. Nate just told me that Harold was in town."

"I think I mentioned that it was an early celebration," Nate said, butting in. He reached in his pocket in his pants and brought out a small box, neatly wrapped. "In fact, Blair, I brought you something."

Blair, Dan and Serena all turned at the same time to glare at him.

"You shouldn't have," Blair said, her teeth clenched as she reached over to accept the present. She put the box next to her plate, patting it. "I'll save it for later."

"Excuse me for a moment," Dan said, pushing himself away from the table. "I have to… I need to use the restroom."

"Dan," Blair said, her eyes wide.

"I'll be back in a minute," Dan said, and even as the words left his mouth he wasn't sure if they were true.

Luckily, after he took a couple of wrong turns in the restaurant and had a staff member point him to the right door, the bathrooms were single stalled. He wouldn't have been surprised if Nate had wanted to follow him in here to taunt him some more about how much better he knew Blair than Dan.

Dan reached in his pocket for his phone, dialing Vanessa's familiar number quickly. After the second ring, he heard her voice on the other end. "He bought her a present."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, sounding confused.

"Nate. He's fucking here and he just handed her a present." Vanessa started to laugh and Dan waited until she composed herself. Every few seconds, she would start to say a word before losing it again. "This isn't funny," he hissed into the phone. "I royally fucked this up."

"Dan, if anything, this just makes him look more pathetic. Why is he even there?"

"I don't know!" he said, a little too loudly even if he was in a private stall. "I don't know, Vanessa. Harold invited him."

"Who is Harold?"

"Blair's father. And he brought Serena."

"Once again, I will ask, why are you not letting me document your life?"

"You're not helping," Dan said. "I need to go. They probably think I just went to run into traffic, which honestly sounds a lot more appealing than going back to that table."

"Come on, Dan, you're from Brooklyn. You've handled much more awkward situations than some high school exes being unable to let go. You'll be fine. And if you're not, you can always transfer to some other school."

Dan pressed the end button on his phone without saying goodbye and looked at himself in the mirror. Vanessa did have a point. Compared to the Thanksgiving that he had with his parents, freshly separated, this should be a cake walk. Taking a deep breath, he convinced himself to go back to the table.

The entire table seemed surprise to see him back as he pulled out his chair again, taking his seat next to Blair. He could see that she had been either convinced to open the present or took his absence as an opportunity but he saw a glint of a sliver chain in the open box next to her plate. "Sorry," Dan said awkwardly as he pulled himself closer to the table.

"Don't be," Blair said, reassuringly putting her hand on his knee under the table. Dan shot her a thankful smile. Blair ran her hand up his leg, resting on the inner part of his thigh and it took all of his willpower not to react. "We were just deciding what to order, you missed nothing."

Dan glanced towards Nate, smirking slightly at the way Blair had artfully downplayed any sense of importance in the gift she had received. "Blair, we should share something."

"I was thinking the same thing," she said, removing her hand from his leg and placing it on the back of his neck to pull him in for a swift kiss. "Funny how we're always so in sync like that. Dad, are you and Roman the same way? Nate, what about you and Serena?"

Dan wasn't sure who Blair was more pissed off at, he could tell underneath her pleasant demeanor and her display of affection that there was rage brewing. but what he was sure of, however, was that it was going to be a long dinner.


	21. Chapter 21

The dinner had been broken up by the waitress coming to take their orders, Dan and Blair deciding to split a salad and a pasta dish, and had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. No one seemed to want to break the quiet that fell over them in case it came with a fight.

Finally Serena, who had visibly been squirming as the group continued to not talk, broke the peace. "So, Harold, how long are you in town for?"

"We fly out the day after tomorrow. A short trip to see Blair for her birthday."

This was the wrong thing to say as the entire table turned their heads and zoned in on Harold. Dan had half the sense to say something, to change the subject, and try and get the heat off of Blair's father. Even though he was uncomfortable at the table, even though he was uncomfortable with the grouping that had gathered at the table, he would have rather gone on in silence than let Blair unleash.

Instead of responding, Blair let out a small laugh and picked up a piece of bread from the middle of the table. Instead of eating the roll, she started to pull it apart. Dan watched as crumbs fell on to the table cloth and the table switched from looking at Harold, to looking at Blair.

"Do you want to step outside?" Dan said, trying to whisper to Blair but with the entire table looking at them, it was impossible for his words not to go unheard by everyone.

"That's a great idea, Dan," Roman said, clapping his hands together. "Why don't you two take a stroll before dinner comes? It's a beautiful night. We should have planned better and dined somewhere with tables outdoors. Maybe on a rooftop somewhere-"

Dan looked gratefully at Roman, who seemed to be the only one trying to preserve the peace at the table. "Do you want to, Blair?"

"No," she said, refusing to elaborate besides with a small shake of her head. "I'm fine where I am, Dan, but if you would like to take a walk you are more than welcome to."

Dan shook his head, slouching down in his seat a bit.

Blair looked at him from the corner of the eye and her lips turned downwards. "You know what, I changed my mind. Let's go."

Before Dan could speak or change his mind, she was up and pulling his arm towards the entrance. "We'll be back in a few minutes."

* * *

Dan stood, his hands shoved in his pockets, as Blair handed over her credit card to the man at the convince store. "Blair, you don't smoke," Dan said, protesting as she took the pack of cigarettes from the man.

Blair shrugged, "I know."

"Then why did you just buy a pack?"

Blair led him outside, they were a block away from the restaurant, and leaned on the bricks of the building. "I used to, when I was just starting high school- when my dad was still home." She hit the pack against her hand before tearing off the plastic and handing it to Dan who obligingly put it into his pocket. "My dad hated it. I don't think I've ever been yelled at more than when he, well Dorota, found a pack under my bed. I had so many lectures and it was back when I thought that my dad was a demigod. I didn't think he knew anything but the answers. So, when he said stop, I did." She shrugged, taking out the matchbook she had gotten from the store, and put the cigarette in her mouth. "I haven't touched one since. Well, maybe when I was drunk a couple of times but that doesn't count."

"So you decided this was the time to start again?"

Blair put the cigarette in her mouth and lit it, holding it between her fingers once it was lit. "God, no. I'm not the stupid to go and start smoking again. I just want the smell on my clothes. I want him to think I am smoking, that I disobeyed him."

"Blair-"

"Don't, Dan. I don't need you to apologize for how my dad is behaving. I don't know what has gotten into him. I tried to ask what he was doing on my birthday that was so important that he had to come down a month before- he had no answer." Dan could see her eyes starting to glisten and he reached out to take her free hand. "I'm between that he truly just forgot what month I was born in or that he just didn't care and took a cheaper flight."

"I'm sure he has something going on," Dan said, looking down towards his feet.

Blair rolled his eyes, "You don't have to defend him." She flicked the ashes off the cigarette but continued to hold it. "You don't have to say anything really." She leaned her head against his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh. "I think he still knows exactly what is right for me. He still sees me as his little Blair Bear, that I'm ten years old."

"I think all parents are like that," Dan said. He didn't want to necessarily defend Harold and had a few choice words that he would personally like to say, but he knew the pain of losing a relationship with a living parent and didn't want to see Blair have to go through that- even if Harold was going to continuously try and wedge himself into their relationship.

"I think it's kind of funny though," Blair said, flicking her finger again and letting the cigarette burn down. "Nate really put a wrench in his plans when he brought Serena."

Dan gave a half-hearted chuckle, throwing his arm around Blair's shoulders as she stubbed out the cigarette on the wall. "Well, I think they are both two men that are used to putting their needs and wants first."

"I don't know what either of them are doing," Blair said, frustration lacing her words. "It makes me so mad. Nate parading Serena in front of me and my dad parading Nate in front of me." As they started to walk, Blair stopped, "Exactly how hungry are you?"

* * *

Dan pulled out Blair's seat to the table, the food having already arrived but theirs was absent. Blair put her bag on the table briefly and Dan could see her hand tap the bottom of her bag so the freshly bought pack of cigarettes (with most of them thrown into the trash) tumbling out.

Harold's eyebrows shot up, "Blair, are you smoking?"

"Oops," she said, shrugging her shoulders lightly before pressing the pack back into her bag. She slung the bag over the side of her chair and moved closer to Dan.

"Blair, those are deadly. You are practically begging for a disease."

"Do you have any other fatherly advice for me?" Blair said, looking over to her father. "Any good lessons on loyalty or honestly?"

"Blair, honestly-"

"There's the word," Blair said, smirking.

"Blair, what has gotten in to you?"

"Are you fucking joking?" Blair asked, practically laughing in his face.

Harold looked around and back at his daughter, "Blair, language."

"Dad, I am turning 20 years old, I think I'm allowed a fuck or two when the situation calls for it."

"Blair-"

"Roman," Blair said, putting her hand up. "I really do like you but please just stay out of this. I don't know what this facade of a birthday dinner was about, but it wasn't about me or about celebrating my birthday. It's a month early, for one, and on the guest list is my ex-fiance and his plus one. Let me remind you, in case you forgot, who his plus one is. She happens to be the woman who Nate decided that he couldn't live without that he had to have both of us while not having the balls to tell me it was over."

Dan tore his eyes away briefly from Blair to look at Nate who was looking like he just got punched in the gut. Serena, however, looked slightly relieved to not be receiving the brunt of Blair's fury and vitriol.

"I was just outside wondering how am I going to sit through this dinner when I realized, I don't have to. I'm almost twenty years old and I no longer need to sit here just to please my father when he did practically everything in his power to make it a terrible dinner for the rest of us."

"Blair," Harold said, his voice straining as he reached out to cover Blair's hand with his own.

Blair ripped away her hands quickly and stood up. "No, I'm done. If you want to get in touch with me, you know how to reach me but until you grow the fuck up and realize that your dream of merging the Waldorf family with the Archibald family has gone up in flames, I'm done. Don't you think your daughter deserves better than a cheater?" Blair let out a slightly cruel laugh. "Actually, don't answer that. I think I deserve better than that and while he might not be your idea of a Prince Charming, he suits me just fine. Come on, Dan, I already asked up front to put our food in take away containers."

Dan stood up, his head slightly bowing at Rufus as he did not know what the proper protocol was in this situation. "Um, thank you… for the dinner."

Blair laughed lightly as she grabbed him by the elbow and led him away from the table leaving four very shocked faces in their, well really her, wake.

* * *

Blair pressed the key into the hole and turned the door knob, leading Dan into her apartment. Dan let her walk a couple of feet into the apartment, closing the door behind him, before he pressed her against the hallway door and kissed her. Blair let out a quiet noise in surprise before pressing her hands against either side of his face.

"What was that for?" she asked, as he pulled away. His hands moved down to her body and rested on her hips.

"You are just so hot when you're mad," Dan said, pressing his lips against her collarbone. "I mean, it's not hot when the anger is directed towards me but man, I do not want to get on your bad side."

Blair giggled, arching her back slightly off the wall as Dan played with the hem of her dress. "Aren't you hungry?" she said, using her head to point at the bag that contained their food on the floor, where Dan had dropped it.

"It can wait," he assured her, turning her around to slowly unzip her dress.

* * *

Blair rolled over in bed at the sound of her phone going off. "Fuck," she said, pulling the sheet away from Dan to cover herself as she looked at the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Dan asked, rolling against her, rubbing his chin against her shoulder.

Blair showed him the phone which was lighting up with a picture of Blair and her father. "I feel like post-coital is not the time to talk to my father about what just happened."

Dan shook his head, "No, probably not."

Still, Blair looked guiltily at the phone as it continued to light up before it finally turned to black. She turned over on her side, her chest pressed up against Dan's. "Do you think I should talk to him?"

Shrugging, Dan traced a pattern on to her back. "I don't know. It's up to you. Do you want to talk to him?"

Blair bit her lip, "I don't know. He goes back to France in a couple of days and I don't want him to leave with us mad at each other. He is my dad."

"I know," Dan said, nodding along.

"I did say what I wanted to say."

"And quite ferociously."

"Do you think it was too much?"

"I don't know, Blair. I think your dad is overstepping his boundaries a bit and you were rightfully mad."

Blair pursed her lips as her phone lit up again to show a voicemail. "I will at least listen to the message," she said, nodding her head as though she has just made an important decision. Blair pushed herself off the bed, taking the bed sheet with her as she exited to the bathroom.

Dan, feeling quite exposed now, stood from the bed and fished around for his boxers and pulled them up. Sitting back in the bed, he pressed his back against the wall and watched the doorway from which she came.

Blair came back, dragging the sheet behind her. She rumbled through her drawers and finally pulled out a top and some pajama bottoms. "I'm hungry, I'm going to heat up the pasta. Do you want some?"

Dan raised his eyebrows, surprised that she hadn't come back with at least a debriefing of the voicemail but he had learned quickly with her not to press an issue that she didn't want to talk about. "Yeah," he said, trying to act nonchalant, "I guess I can go and set the table."

"Great," Blair said. "I'll be down in a second. I just need to make a call."

Dan stepped out of the bedroom and as soon as he was passed the threshold, Blair closed the door behind him.


	22. Chapter 22

"You guys told me we were having a home cooked meal," Dan said, dropping his bag on the floor and shutting the door to the loft. He looked over to where his Dad and Jenny on the couch, each holding a piece of pizza and looking guilty. "And don't say you cooked those. I can see the boxes in the kitchen from here."

"To our defense," Rufus started, putting the slice down on his plate and the plate down on the coffee table, "we were thinking about cooking for you." Rufus stood up and walked across the room to embrace his son. "It's good to see you too, Dan."

"Yeah, yeah," Dan said, giving his dad a swift pat on the back. "Do you have any leftovers?"

"Since when are you too good for pizza?" Jenny chimed in.

Dan shot her a look, "Since I ate it basically every night this week."

"Blair doesn't have a personal chef cooking you French cuisine every night? Or something equally as fancy?" Jenny said, raising her eyebrows.

He shrugged, "Most nights she does, Jen, but most nights I'm by myself, in my dorm room, with either campus food or pizza as my two biggest options."

"We live in New York City," Rufus entered the argument,"one of the premier cities in the world for food and you think those are your only two options." Rufus crossed the room to the kitchen, looking through the fridge to see if he could accommodate Dan's demands. "No left overs. I guess it's delicious cheese and tomato sauce on a piece of bread or you starve."

Dan rolled his eyes and walked over to grab a plate and a slice of pizza. "On a broke college student's budget? Yes, pizza and campus food is all I can afford."

"He's probably spending all of his allowance money on Blair," Jenny laughed.

"Allowance money?" Dan asked, sitting on an arm chair. "Are you getting an allowance?" Looking at his dad, he narrowed his eyes. "Are you giving her allowance money?"

"Oh my God, Dan," Jenny said, leaning over and slapping him on the leg. "That's what you got out of that? You come in here and complain about the food and then accuse dad of giving me an allowance?" She turned to Rufus, "You know, I think I like him better when he is in Manhattan."

"Now, Jen-"

"What? At least then I can pretend he's still normal and not all high maintenance."

"I'm not high maintenance," Dan protested, using a napkin to wipe the grease from his fingers before reaching out and flicking her arm.

Jenny stuck her tongue out on him, "You were too concerned with your special meal to even ask how we were."

"Okay, fine," Dan conceded. "Jenny, how are you? How's life? How's high school? Any other questions I should ask?"

"Hi Dan, it's lovely to see you," Jenny said, sitting up straighter in her seat. "Life is just great. Dad and I have been enjoying each other's company oh so much while you were gone. He even said I could possibly take over your room temporarily as a studio since you never come home to use it."

"Jenny," Rufus interjected. "I don't think it's the time for that when you and your brother just started getting along."

Jenny rolled her eyes and slouched back down, "Well, it's true. He did say he would think about it."

"That's great, Jen," Dan said, half-heartedly.

Rufus and Jenny looked at each other and then back to Dan. Rufus cleared his throat and Dan looked up from his piece of pizza to his father. "Are you okay, Dan?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What he's trying to ask," Jenny interrupted, "but will take ten minutes before he gets to his point, is that it's Friday night and you are with us instead of out doing glamorous Upper East Side shit."

"Jenny, language," Rufus said, glancing at her.

Jenny looked unapologetic as she shrugged her shoulders and continued, "We just thought you missed us terribly but from your entrance that doesn't seem to be the case. Did the Princess break up with her pauper?"

"I thought you liked Blair."

"I do," Jenny nodded, "but that doesn't mean I can't make fun of my hipster older brother dating the Princess of the UES. But, as I am a great sister, I will stop if you guys broke up. Did you break up?"

"No," Dan said hastily.

"Then why are you eighth grade Dan level of emo right now?" Jenny asked.

Rufus looked uncomfortable, "You know, Jen, there might be better ways of asking if Dan is okay."

Dan shook his head, "No, it's fine. No, we didn't break up but I don't know- it's been weird for the last couple of weeks."

"Maybe her rebellious stage came to an end."

"Jenny."

"What, Dad? I said I would stop teasing him if they broke up and he has confirmed twice that they haven't." Jenny looked at her watch, "Shit. I need to get ready. This has been fun," she said, standing up and patting Dan on the shoulder. "I expect cliff notes on all the drama in the morning in lieu of the Entertainment section of the paper."

As she exited the room, Dan turned to his father, "Where is she going?"

Rufus shrugged, "She's suddenly had a jolt in her popularity this year."

Dan ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, "Good for her, I guess."

"So," Rufus said, pressing his elbows into his knees and leaning forward. "What is this drama with Blair?"

* * *

"So, you're coming home for Thanksgiving?" Dan said, pressing his phone against his ear. He was seated in a small cafe that he had found a couple of weeks back and had forgotten about until he was thinking of a quiet place to do some writing that morning on his way back from staying the night in Brooklyn. It was still early by a Saturday morning in New York standards, at least for college students, and Dan was looking forward to a quiet morning in the corner of the cafe writing up the last bit of his assignment of one of his creative writing classes.

His voice was as quiet as he could make it but he could still feel the stares from some of the other seated patrons. Most of his companions for the morning were older, grabbing coffee and the newspaper, and so he was trying to rush his conversation with Vanessa who had called complaining that her room was spinning too much from drinking that she couldn't sleep.

"Sorry," he mouthed to one older lady who was staring at him. "One second," he said, putting up a finger and indicated that he was wrapping up the conversation. "Sorry, Vanessa, what were you saying?"

"Where are you?" she asked breathily from the other line, her words slightly slurring together.

"At some hole in the wall cafe. I'm trying to get some work done before the rest of the day turns into me sitting on my bed watching Netflix all day."

"No plans with Blair?"

"She's been surprisingly absent from my life recently."

"Uh oh," Vanessa said, sounding the opposite of upset. "Rocky road in paradise?"

"I don't know," Dan admitted. "I don't think anything happened with her but I'm not going to press her for it. I've still been seeing her, just a lot less of her. A couple of last minute cancels."

"Do you think she's cheating?" Vanessa's voice lowered to a whisper. "With Nate? Didn't you say he was at that dinner that went so south?"

Dan caught the eye of the older lady again, "Hey, I'm going to have to call you back later. Or you call me when you're up."

"Fine," Vanessa said, drawing out the word. "But don't say I didn't warn you that she wasn't right for you."

Dan hit the end button on his phone and placed in into his bag. He looked in the direction of the older lady who had seemingly disappeared in the last few seconds of him wrapping up his call with Vanessa. Letting out a small sigh, he tried to get back to his story but kept coming up short.

If he was going to be honest, Blair getting back with Nate or hanging out with Nate behind his back had definitely crossed his mind. She had been flighty over the last couple of weeks. There were a couple of nights that they had tentative plans, as she reminded him, to have dinner or hang out or anything that she had cancelled at the last minute.

If things hadn't been so weird, he would have reminded her of the one time that he had double booked when they had tentative plans.

It wasn't that Dan didn't trust Blair, it was that he didn't trust Nate. But, and this was the weird thing to him, she had cancelled on him a couple of times when Nate had been in the room with him, looking engrossed on his laptop or doing homework, and Nate hadn't left for the whole night.

Things were icy at best in their room but Dan had grown tired of being the one to always leave, so he and Nate were operating in almost total silence these days. That wasn't to say that Dan wasn't taking notice of when the times Nate was in the room and the times Blair cancelled collided. It was enough to safely, in his mind, cross Nate off the list of possible reasons that Blair had suddenly become flakey.

Dan looked at his computer, feeling a headache suddenly come on. Shaking his head, he realized that he was not going to get any more work done when the only thing he could think of was his current situation. He packed up his things and stood up, stretching and as he did, he looked over to the other side of the cafe where a very familiar face was sitting next to the window.

Slinging his bag over one shoulder, he made his way carefully through the closely placed tables until he was standing in front of Blair. "Hey?" he said, tentatively.

"Dan!" Blair said in surprise, tipping over her cup. No liquid spilt out as she hurriedly picked it up which, to Dan, meant that she must have been there for awhile. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Dan looked at the pulled out chair on the other side of her table, "Meeting someone?"

"I was just leaving," Blair said, standing up quickly. She seemed jumpy which gave Dan pause. Maybe he had read everything wrong and she and Nate were just throwing him off their tail with the cancellations when Nate was still in the room. Dan quickly tried to shake off that thought, he was dating someone from the UES not the FBI.

Dan nodded slowly as they both made their way to the door, "Cool, me too. I was just doing some work, or trying to." Blair didn't look like she was listening but instead was shaking her head. "Blair, are you okay?"

"I think I forgot something at the table," she said. "You don't have to wait for me."

Dan turned anyways, his jaw dropping slightly as he caught sight of a familiar face waiting for Blair at the table.


	23. Chapter 23

"Serena?" he asked, Dan face scrunching up in confusion before he let out a laugh.

The tall blonde looked from the table to Dan and flashed him a smile, "Hey, Dan. Blair," she said, turning to Blair who was avoiding eye contact with Dan now, "did you see your boyfriend was here?"

* * *

Dan perched himself on a stool in Blair's kitchen, Serena took the second one while Blair used the fridge to lean on. "So, let me get this straight, these last two weeks you've been canceling on me to hang out with Serena?"

Blair shrugged, "They were tentative plans, Dan. I wasn't canceling, I just was confirming that we didn't have plans that night and you were free to do whatever you wanted to do."

After the run in in the cafe, Blair had reluctantly agreed to go back to her place to talk about it. Dan was content with staying in the cafe but now that Blair knew at least one other person who went there, she thought it was best to go somewhere private.

"Why didn't you just tell me this?" Dan said.

Blair shrugged again, "It wasn't important."

"You're hanging out with practically your sworn enemy," Dan said, "and you don't think that's important."

Serena chimed in, "I'm her dirty little secret, Dan."

"It's not important," Blair repeated, "and I didn't think you would think it was such a big deal." She crossed her arms, "Why is this such a big deal?"

"It's not. This," he said, motioning between the two women, "isn't a big deal. Blair, I want to write stories for a living. My imagination is always going. This was not what I was picturing when you kept saying that something came up or that you couldn't make it over." Blair bit her bottom lip. "Look, I don't care what you choose do your time when it's not with me but it was getting suspicious that you kept canceling. I thought, well, let's just say I thought a lot of things."

"Maybe I should go," Serena said, standing from the stool. "Let you two talk about this and then maybe we can all get dinner some time! Now that this secret, that I didn't even know was a secret, is out in the open." Serena shot Blair a look and a quick smile, "I'll see you around, Dan."

"Yeah, see you," Dan said with a small wave of his hand.

Blair watched her friend? enemy? frenemy? (Dan wasn't sure what to call her) leave. "I wasn't trying to hide this from you. Maybe this morning because you caught me off guard, but in general, it just never came up."

"What did you think I thought when you kept canceling?"

Blair lifted one shoulder up, "I didn't really think about it, to be honest. You didn't ask."

"I didn't want to impede on your right to privacy." Blair rolled her eyes slightly in response. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Blair, you just rolled your eyes at me. That's not nothing."

She let out a deep breath, "As much as I appreciate you're acknowledgement of me having my own life and letting me have privacy, it's sometimes so frustrating."

"I don't want to overstep."

"Dan," Blair said, walking from her place against the fridge to sit on the stool that Serena had been occupying moments before, "there is a difference between overstepping and just asking. You could have asked me what was going on and I would have either answered or told you to mind your own business."

"I never know with you, Blair."

She raised her eyebrows, "Am I that hard to read? I mean, come on, you can tell when I'm pissed off or don't want to answer something. Just ask. It almost comes off as you not caring that I was canceling when you didn't speak up. I didn't even know that was how you were reading it. How are we supposed to be in a relationship if you're idea of communicating is just letting me do whatever and you imagining scenarios?"

Dan was running his hands down his legs, trying to avoid eye contact. He had been worrying so much about being a perfect boyfriend and letting Blair be Blair, that he could now see that he was barely being a boyfriend. It was, after all, normal to inquire to what your girlfriends alternate plans were.

"I don't want to make this into a fight or whatever-"

"No, it's fine," Dan insisted.

"Okay," Blair said, nodding. "Then what exactly did you think I was doing when I wasn't hanging out with you?"

"It's stupid."

"Probably, but tell me anyways."

"I don't know. I thought maybe there was something with Nate or-" He was interrupted by Blair's laughter. "Hey, don't laugh at my insecurities."

"Come on, Dan, after that disastrous dinner you think I'm off galavanting with Nate?"

"I told you it was stupid," he mumbled.

Blair leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "How many times do I have to repeat to you that I have no interest in Nathaniel Archibald to get it through your overly intelligent head?"

"At least once more."

Blair rested her chin on his shoulder, "I'm not into Nate. Well, unless he's wearing green. Nate in green is my weakness," She pretended to swoon, falling into Dan's lap. "Fan me, Dan, I'm getting hot just thinking about it."

"Come on," Dan said, looking down at her. "It's not funny."

"It is a little bit," she said, putting up her thumb and index finger. "Just a little."

"So, are you going to let me in on this whole Serena thing."

Blair sat up. "Thank you for asking, Dan, I would love to."

"I get the point. Ask and you shall receive."

Blair nodded proudly. "You're such a fast learner," she said, pinching his cheek. "So when I got that call from my dad's number the other night," she leaned back against the counter, "and went to check my voicemail, it was a surprisingly female voice that was on the other line. Serena asked to borrow my dad's phone, because I have had her number blocked for practically years now, and went into this semi-long apology regarding how she didn't know and past mistakes."

"And then you called her?"

"Well, no, I called my dad first. I actually called Roman because I couldn't bear thinking of speaking to my dad, but through Roman he let me know that Serena practically begged to use his phone to call me before they all went their separate ways. In fact, she remains to this day the only one of that group to apologize. Technically Roman apologized but I loop him in with my dad who has stayed radio silent still on this one."

"And you have been hanging out with Serena since then?"

"Partially that. The other times I'm busy fucking Nate's brains out." Blair smirked as Dan groaned. "Come on, if we can't laugh about it then it's no fun."

"It's not fun for me either way."

"It will be soon enough," she insisted. "I've only hung out with Serena like three times and the rest of the time I've been working on a stupid project for one of my classes. Why do teacher's assign group projects? Do they think we like them? One girl has a million jobs and refuses to let us get together without her. She's scared we're going to throw her under the bus and say she didn't work on the project, which I still might do because she is dead weight even when she shows up. So, we're working around her schedule which, unfortunately, conflicts with our plans sometimes."

"Well, I feel somewhat better."

Blair squeezed his forearm, "Good. See how great communication is."

"You are just really enjoying teasing me today."

She smirked in response before leaning in, grabbing his chin and kissing him. "You're an easy target."

"So, you and Serena?"

Blair nodded, standing up from the stool, "We're testing out a friendship."

"And how's it going?"

"Well, I haven't lunged at her recently so I would say rather well."

* * *

Dan unlocked the door to his dorm around 11 PM later that night after spending the rest of the day with Blair, both of them working on their respective homework. Nate was sitting hunched over at his desk, his head resting on his book. Dan gently placed his bag down on the ground, kicking off his shoes.

"Nate?" he asked quietly. If he was just resting, Dan didn't want to start up a conversation but he also would feel bad if he let him sleep on his desk like that.

Nate didn't stir.

"Hey, man," Dan said, pressing his hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should try your bed?"

Nate shook softly before opening his eyes, "Oh, hey." Nate looked around, taking in the dark sky that they could see from their room. "Oh, fuck, what time is it?"

"11?" Dan said, looking down at his phone to confirm. "11:10."

"Fuck." Nate said, pushing himself away from the desk. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Are you okay?" Dan said, backing up.

Nate shook his head as he fumbled around his desk. "I had plans to meet Serena tonight at some party but I was supposed to meet her at 10." Nate pushed some papers around and discovered his phone lying underneath. "Fuck," he said quietly as Dan watched his eyes scan the screen.

"I'm sure she'll understand that you fell asleep?" Dan said, wondering why he was trying to comfort Nate at this time.

"She'll think I blazed and nodded off. I was up trying to memorize this stupid textbook all last night and today. I have a test first thing on Monday morning and I have gone to approximately one of the classes. I'm completely fucked. If I fail this, I'm going to fail the class. Not to mention, Serena has me on this probation period after dinner the other night. God fucking dammit," Nate said, flinging his phone against the wall.

Dan watched as the phone hit the wall and practically could hear the screen break.

"Look, I don't mean to put this on you," Nate said, turning to face Dan. "I'm sure my problems are the bottom of the barrel in terms of things you care about. I just, I keep fucking up. Blair kept me on this super tight straight and narrow path and now I can't even get to a 2 P.M. class let alone classes that I actually need for my major at 8 A.M."

Dan silently nodded. "Do you," he said, hesitating as he handed over his phone, "want to use mine? To call Serena, I mean?"

"I think it's useless at this point. She already sent me a message saying it was completely done now."

Dan slowly took his hand and his phone back.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Manage to not be such a fuck up."

Dan shrugged, "I don't know."

"Actually, can I borrow your phone? I might as well try and explain it to Serena. You have her number, right? Because I sure don't have it memorized."

Dan handed over his phone wordlessly before walking to his drawers and rumbling through them for something to sleep in. Nate exited the room and entered it a couple of minutes later, looking noticeably calmer if not happier. "Things good?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to head to her room. Hey," Nate said, turning to face Dan as he handed over the phone. "Thank you. I know I've not been the easiest guy to live with and you definitely didn't have to listen to me right then so I appreciate it."

"No problem," Dan said, as he grabbed his toothbrush and went to walk around Nate.

Nate stepped in front of him, pressing his hand against Dan's chest, "No, I'm serious, man. I know I've been a huge dick lately. I thought, honestly, that maybe we could be friends earlier this year when I switched to this room. I know, crazy. But then you obviously wanted no part of that and I saw you with Blair and I've been going a bit insane ever since. So, yeah, I'll see you tomorrow now that I've made this awkward."

Dan stood there for a minute after Nate rushed out of the room before grabbing his cellphone that he half heartedly tossed on the bed.

Blair picked up after a couple of rings.

"You'll never guess what just happened."

"Tell me." she said breathily.

"Were you sleeping?"

"I was… with Nate," Blair said, chuckling to herself.

Dan, despite himself, let out a small laugh.

"See, it's getting funny."

"It's only funny because that's what I was calling about."

"Ooo," Blair said, "tell me more. Actually, don't. Just come back over. Now that I'm up, I might as well have company."

"What's in it for me?"

"The knowledge that you can check under my bed to make sure that Nate isn't hiding?"

Dan laughed again, "Okay, fine, it's getting funnier."


	24. Chapter 24

Dan tapped the back end of the highlighter against his book, trying to concentrate on his text book, trying and failing to concentrate as Blair talked with Nate and Serena. It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and he had one cruel professor schedule an exam for Wednesday. At least he lived in the city. He had some classmates that he talked to have to book a very expensive last minute ticket home after they found out about the test.

He had missed a couple of classes during an impromptu birthday trip for Blair a couple of weeks ago and he had failed to study the material he had missed before this week. He had tried to convince Blair to not come hang out at his place but she had promised she would be quiet. The promise might have kept had Nate and Serena not shown up an hour or so ago to grab something of Nate's and then decide to stay.

The four of them had formed somewhat of a friendship, or at least rebuilt somewhat of a friendship. Dan was still on guard around Nate and Blair together, but that was just his insecurities poking through. In truth, they all had seemed to grow in the last month both as couple and as budding friends.

"… pick you up for the party," Dan could hear Serena say to Blair over the soft sounds of his music. Dan tugged an ear bud and turned around to face the three of them.

"What party?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Serena looked at Blair whose eyes seemed to grow in a second. "Party?" she tried, and failed, to play dumb.

"I heard something about a party."

"Weren't you just listening to your music, Dan?" Blair said, reaching over the bed to ruffle his hair. "Maybe the song you were listening to mentioned a party."

"You know I can't listen to music with lyrics when I'm studying or I can't pay attention. Which is also why I have read about three pages in the entire time that Nate and Serena have been there."

"You know there is a place called the library?" Nate said, laughing at his own joke.

Dan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I practically lived there for a bit… remember?"

"You're such a martyr, Dan," Blair said, putting her hands over her heart. "Must have been such a tough life, choosing to sleep in the library instead of at your girlfriend's place… that has a bed."

"I see you guys trying to change the subject," Dan said, pointing at the three of them. "What party?" He could see Blair bite the inside of her lip as she avoided eye contact. "What is this? Some kind elitist Upper East Side thing?"

"Kind of!" Serena chirped in,

Blair shot a glare at Serena before softening her look and turning to Dan, "Aren't you hanging out with Vanessa on Wednesday night? Remember? I asked you what you were doing and you said Vanessa was home and I said okay?"

Dan scrunched up his face, trying to recall that specific conversation, "You know, I remember thinking you let that go way too easily."

Blair shrugged, "I was just being a trusting girlfriend. I was sure you didn't want me to third wheel it."

"I somehow think that wasn't your thought process when you were so cool, calm and collected."

"What are you talking about?" Blair said with fake shock ringing in her voice. "I am the coolest, calmest, most collected girlfriend there is."

"So, what is this party?"

Nate and Serena both looked at Blair who let out a huff, "It's just a stupid tradition at our school. The alumni get together on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This year it's like blast from the past theme with old uniforms. Kind of childish."

"Totally childish," Serena said, nodding. "You won't be missing a thing."

"I mean, let's not oversell it," Nate mumbled. "You will be missing all the girls in their short uniform skirts. It's a sight, man."

Dan laughed as Serena hit Nate gently on the chest, "I'm standing right here."

"You'll obviously be the hottest one, but a man is allowed to look. Is he not?"

"He's not," Serena and Blair said in unison.

Nate shrugged before looking at his watch, "Shit, Serena, we should go. I told my dad we would meet him for lunch. I think it's going to turn into a very late, early dinner at this point."

Serena grabbed her bag off Nate's bed and gave a small wave to Blair and Dan, "See you guys!"

"I'll take pictures, Dan, don't worry," Nate said as he closed the door.

In the silence that swept over the room, Blair fingered a stray thread on her sweater. "You already had plans," she said softly.

Dan shrugged, "Whatever." He put his earbud back in his ear and turned to his book. He had managed to highlight an entire sentence before he felt the earbud get yanked out of his ear. "Hey!"

"You can't be mad!" Blair said, crossing her arms. "You had plans."

"I'm not mad," he said, rubbing his ear. "I think it's weird you never even mentioned it to me-"

"I was going to, but you said you were hanging out with Vanessa."

Dan shrugged, "You could have just said that you also had plans." He tapped his highlighter on his book, "It's not a big deal, Blair."

"Dan, you can't say it is not a big deal if you are going to silently stew about it and then tell me you are actually upset about it a couple of days later."

"I won't."

"You will," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I know you."

"Okay, fine, I'm a little upset that you didn't tell me about a party you are attending with Nate and Serena."

"Okay."

"But I'm not mad."

"Then what are you?"

Dan looked up, trying to figure out an emotion he could pull out that would encompass his feelings. Truthfully, he felt disappointed and maybe a little sad and possibly a little tricked. "I have mixed feelings."

"What is the mix?"

"Blair."

"Don't Blair me. We talked about this. Open communication. Less brooding."

"I don't brood."

"You do and your hot when you're doing it but it also fucks up the good thing we having going here."

"Okay, fine, I feel like you tricked me a bit. Maybe not intentionally."

"Why?" she said, settling on her stomach on the bed so that she was practically face to face with him as he sat at his desk. Dan tried to shrug as an explanation. "I want words, Dan. You're good at words."

"Not when it comes to this. I don't know. You asked me what I was doing but never said what you were doing. I could hang out with Vanessa on Friday or Saturday."

"Okay… and?"

"Why does there have to be an and?"

"Because I know you and there is always an 'and'. With some people, there is a 'but', but with you… its an 'and'."

"And I feel… I don't know, why didn't you tell me?"

Blair ran her fingers against her chin. "I don't know. I didn't think you would want to go."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a bunch of Upper East Side assholes who get together and drink a lot and talk about people you don't know."

"Is it because I'm from Brooklyn?"

"Is what because you're from Brooklyn?"

"That you don't want me there."

"I want you there!" Blair said.

Dan leaned back in his chair, "Do you?"

"Yes, of course," Blair nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know! You all have a weird thing about people from Brooklyn."

"That's true," she said. "But it's not because you're from Brooklyn. I just figured I wouldn't put it on you to change your plans around me for once."

"It's weird. You don't even like Vanessa and you're letting me hang out with her unsupervised."

"Well," Blair said, "I think she wants to fuck you, but I think you are wise enough to not give in to temptation."

"She doesn't want to-"

"Mhm, sure," Blair said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, if you want to come to the party, you are more than welcome to. I mean, Vanessa isn't, but if you want to come solo…"

"Let me think about it."

"You can wear one of Nate's old uniforms. Now that I think about it, I bet you would look so hot with a St. Jude's uniform."

"I'll talk to Vanessa and see if she can reschedule," Dan said, rolling over his chair to the edge of the bed and leaning in to kiss Blair. "But I really need to study now."

"You know, I hear your attention span goes up after sex."

"That's very forward of you," Dan said, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Communication is key," Blair said, leaning forward.

* * *

Vanessa sat cross legged on the couch, a beer in hand and the t.v clicker in the other. "What did you say Blair was doing tonight?"

It turned out, when Dan had asked if Vanessa could possibly reschedule them hanging out, that Vanessa was spending Thanksgiving and the rest of her few days off up in Vermont with her parents. Her sister was driving them up on Thanksgiving morning and Dan would have felt too guilty blowing off his only friend from high school if he had chosen to go with Blair.

"Some party," Dan said, trying to act nonchalant about it. Blair had been texting him all night with pictures of her outfit that had made him the opposite of nonchalant. "She went with Nate and Serena."

"Nate and Serena? Interesting."

"What's interesting about that?"

"Nothing. Just the UES is so weird about them all dating each other. I feel like you are the only one in that group that doesn't share some kind of lineage way down the line."

"That's gross."

"They have to keep their wealth in the family," she said, reaching her leg out and poking his thigh with her toe. "Like actually, in the family."

"Yeah, I got it the first time," he said with a small laugh.

Vanessa sighed, "You found my rich people jokes a lot funnier before you started dating one."

"I just don't want to consider the idea of my girlfriend being a product of long lost cousins."

"It worked out just fine for the Royal Family. I would say Harry is kind of cute, although there is those rumors of Charles not being his father." Vanessa clicked the power button on the remote.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Dan protested. "You can't just turn off Chopped in the last round. I need to see which sob story wins the money."

"I can tell you are really invested," Vanessa said, looking at him. "Is that a tear in your eye?"

Dan dramatically wiped his eye, "I just have watery eyes."

Vanessa let out a loud laugh. "You can watch it on demand. Let's go out."

"Out?"

"Yeah. It's the biggest drinking night of the year and we're drinking your dad's crappy beer on your couch. Let's go out."

Dan shrugged, "I don't know, Vanessa. I have to get up early and help Jenny with the turkey."

"Come on, you're like an old grandfather." She leaned over and hit his leg. "Let's go out. Let's get drunk."

"I don't have a fake ID."

"My sister is working as a bartender down the street, she'll let us drink for free. And I know the owner." Vanessa raised her eyebrows suggestively at the last part.

"Oh, gross, Vanessa. How old is he?"

"Old enough to be my dad," she said, laughing as she jumped up from the couch. "Go get Jenny, she should come to. It will be like the old times."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Dan said but standing anyways.

"It's not a good idea," Vanessa said, throwing up her arms. "It's a great idea!"


	25. Chapter 25

"Ruby, we need more shots!" Vanessa said, leaning over the bar. "2 shots. Jenny is cut off."

"I just had one!" Jenny whined, propping her elbows on the bar and placing her chin in her hands.

"And it was pure orange juice, my dear," Ruby said, placing shots in front of Dan and Vanessa. "These two," she pointed at them, "can pass as 21. You, my itty bitty pretty one, can not."

Jenny rolled her eyes, "You know, I've gotten into bars before."

"You have?" Dan asked, looking appalled. "What bar? I'm going to call the police and tell them they are letting in underage girls."

"Oh, really?" Ruby said, shooting him a glance. "And what do you call yourself?"

The bar was crowded, the night before Thanksgiving was basically a drinking holiday, even though most college students were at home with their families (and this was primarily a college bar, even if Ruby didn't like to admit it) there was a big crowd waiting for drinks at the bar. Vanessa, Dan and Jenny had taken seats all the way at the end and Ruby was getting to them when she could, which was not very often, which meant that their night of debauchery was turning into a night of sobriety. Probably for the best, at least in Dan's eyes.

"Ruby, before you go, can you make us like… three drinks each?" Vanessa said, batting her eyes at her older sister. "You've given us two shots and one beer, I don't even have a slight buzz."

"And that is worrying," Ruby said, pulling out some glasses from under the bar. "Drink these and then get out of here. You are hogging up my bar and you aren't even tipping me."

Vanessa laughed, grabbing the glasses, "Isn't being my sister a tip enough?"

"Hardly."

Jenny let out a deep breath, "If I can't drink here, I'm leaving. This is lame. I, also, knew that was just orange juice."

"Don't leave, Jenny!" Vanessa said. "We'll chug these," she handed one glass to Dan and pressed his hand up so that the glass was against his lips, "and then we'll head somewhere else. What bars have you gotten in to before?"

"Vanessa, she's still in high school. Maybe we should let her call it a night."

"And ruin my night with the dynamic duo of the Humphrey siblings? No way. Why don't we just grab a bottle and drink and Ruby's?" Jenny wasn't paying attention at this point, having her phone up and trying to take a selfie. "Jenny?"

"What? Oh, well, actually… I told some of my friends I would just meet up with them." She put the phone down, "I mean, you guys could come… I guess."

"We'll just stay here," Vanessa said, slumping in her chair. "You're going to regret this, little J, when I'm not at Thanksgiving tomorrow."

"Ugh," Jenny said, sliding off her chair, "don't remind me that I just have Dan to hang out with. What kind of holiday is that?"

"The best kind," Dan said, reaching over and messing up her hair.

Jenny gave Vanessa a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she turned, waving above her head as a goodbye to Dan as she left the bar.

"She's growing up too fast," Dan said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Aw," Vanessa said, reaching over and grabbing his cheek between her thumb and index finger."

Dan swatted her away, continuing to drink whatever Ruby had made them.

"Hey, Ruby," Vanessa shouted at her sister who was half way between them and the other side of the bar. "Do you have cards?"

Ruby put up her index finger, finishing with the customer she was helping before grabbing a deck of cards from below the bar. "Here. Where'd Jenny go?"

"She couldn't take that you refused to serve her. You're such a hard ass, Ruby," Vanessa laughed.

"That is my middle name."

Ruby went back to tending customers and Vanessa turned in her seat to Dan, "Ever play drinking war?"

"Drinking what?"

"You know the game war? You drink every time you lose."

"That sounds like the worst idea ever, Vanessa."

"I know," she said, with a twinkle in her eye, "that's why it's the best idea ever."

* * *

"Come on, Dan," Vanessa said, stumbling behind him as they got out of the cab. "I know I told you it was a good idea before but I think I was lying. This is a terrible idea."

"Why?" Dan said. "Blair said she wanted to see me."

"Like three hours ago. When you were still sober."

Dan glanced at his phone, just realizing now that it has passed from the night before Thanksgiving to the morning of Thanksgiving. When did that happen? "I think it will be fine. I'm barely drunk."

Vanessa started to laugh, holding her stomach as she bent over. "Yeah, okay, Dan."

"What!" he said, swinging around to face her. "I am. I'm barely drunk. Look, look what I can do." Dan placed his finger on his nose… well, he attempted. His finger landed midway between his nose and his cheek. "Okay, fine, maybe not sober but then again, I'm not driving."

"Dan, I'm telling you as your friend that this is a bad idea. Let's get a cab and go back to Brooklyn."

Dan shook his head, "We are already here. I'm going to go in." Dan glanced up at the brownstone townhouses, "Vanessa, can you read the numbers?"

"No," she said, walking towards him and tugging at his sleeve. "We should go back, Dan. Let's just finish the night at your place watching a dumb movie and waking up to breakfast in bed from Rufus."

"What bed?"

"Your bed, dummy."

They had used to, used to being the operative word, share his bed during high school. His head being at one side of the bed and hers at the other. It had never been anything more than a friendly sleepover but, and maybe it was the alcohol talking, he could hear a hint of something else in her voice tonight. Or maybe that was him thinking about Blair. His thoughts were getting all jumbled up.

He shook his head, a little too violently as he had to rub his temples to stay upright, "You can go back. I'm going to go see Blair."

Dan reached in his pocket and grabbed his phone. Closing one eye, he scrolled through his contacts until he got to Blair's number.

"Blair? I can't hear you?" Dan said, pressing his fingers against his free ear. "No, I'm outside. I know, I'm a little late. Traffic, am I right? Blair? Blair? Can you come outside?"

Dan looked at the phone, pulling it away from his face, "I think she hung up on me."

"Great," Vanessa said, rubbing her arms trying to stay warm, "Can we go now?"

"No," he said,shaking his head. "Blair!" he yelled, pressing his hands against his cheeks in an effort to be louder. "Blair!"

"Dan," Vanessa said, pointing, "Your phone is ringing."

"Oh," Dan said, laughing slightly before accepting the call. "Blair? I can hear you now."

Blair made a small sound on the other line, "Dan, what is it? I was in bed."

"Oh, did I wake you? You're at home?" Dan pulled the phone away from him for a second, "She's at home."

"I know, Dan," she rolled her eyes, "I can hear you."

"Right," he said, nodding, and then pressing his phone to his ear again.

"Who are you talking to, Dan? Are you in the party? What is going on?"

"Vanessa. I was talking to Vanessa. We got a couple of drinks and then we came straight here. Why are you already home?"

"It's midnight, Dan. I need to sleep. I have to bake in the morning."

"Don't you want to see Vanessa?"

"Dan, I'm going to hang up now. Can you get yourself home?"

"Can we get home?" Dan asked Vanessa, clumsily covering the mouth piece of his phone. Vanessa rolled her eyes as an answer. "Yes, Vanessa said we can get home."

"Great. I'm super glad Vanessa can get you home," Blair said, an edge filling out her sleep filled voice. "Dan, I know you probably won't remember this, but do you realize it's embarrassing to tell your friends that your boyfriend is coming and then he doesn't show up?"

Dan shuffled from one foot to the other, "Do you want me to come over?"

Blair let out a sharp laugh, "What? No. I want you to go home and sleep off whatever you clearly drank. I texted you hours ago to tell you I was going home and not to bother. I'm already getting text messages telling me a homeless man was screaming my name outside of the house. I'm guessing that was you."

"Possibly," Dan said, sheepishly.

"Great. Good night, Dan."

Dan looked at his black phone screen. "I don't think that went well," he said, sobering up.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Vanessa said, sitting on a stoop. "The cab is going to be here in a minute."

* * *

Dan groaned, his head pounding as he looked at the clock on his phone. 5 AM. The worst part of drinking, he decided, was the early morning wake ups when all he wanted to do was crawl under his sheets and forget. Speaking of forgetting, for being as drunk as he was, he was surprised to find all of the bad memories of last night come rushing back to him. He supposed that was what happened when the rest of your night was filled with thinking about it.

He knew it was too early to call Blair, but he had a gnawing pit in the middle of his stomach that was growing. Except maybe that wasn't from the guilt. Dan rushed up, his head spinning as he did, and rushed to the bathroom.

When he returned to the bathroom, teeth and hands thoroughly cleaned, he then noticed the body of someone else in his bed. Dan groaned, making his way out to the kitchen instead where his dad was already sitting, coffee and paper in hand. Dan reached out his hand for the coffee.

"Rough night?" Rufus said, reluctantly giving up his own cup.

"Just a bit."

"You look it. You should shower," Rufus said, pulling back and wafting the air.

"I might pass out in it."

"At least you would be clean," Rufus laughed to himself.

"That's actually zero percent funny," Dan said, lying down on the couch and covering his face with a pillow.

"You know what's not funny? I told you not to have Blair sleep over. I realize that's being old fashioned since you are at school, but not under my roof."

"What are you talking about?" Dan groaned, sitting up. "Dad, that's not Blair. It's Vanessa."

Rufus narrowed his eyes, "I don't care who it is. I think you are too old to be having platonic sleepovers at this age. And why is Vanessa in your bed? What would Blair think of that?"

"I think she wants me to go to hell right now," Dan said, pressing his palm against his forehead. "I think this would just be an addition to the list of grievances she has against me in a 24 hour period. A 12 hour period, really."

"You know what I hear is good for when you screw up?"

"Is this one of your infamous words of wisdom?"

"Apologies."

"Why are you apologizing to me?"

"I wasn't. That was my Rufus word of wisdom for the day."

"Great, Dad. Super job. What a shocking revelation into the world of adult dating?"

"Since when are you an adult? And, I must say, I love that you keep your sarcasm about you when I just heard you getting sick in the bathroom. Today, on Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my always gracious son."

"You are such a comedian. Wake me up when it's the proper time to call someone to grovel for their forgiveness," Dan said, shutting his eyes.

Rufus chuckled, "I'll wake you up at 9:07, then. I always find an apology right at 9:10 goes over the best."

Dan rolled over to his side, "Whatever, dad. Just leave me here to die in peace before Blair slaughters me."

"Okay, but remember, sincerity is the most-"

"Dad!" Dan mumbled into the cushion. "I'm serious."

"And I'm serious when I say- don't puke on my couch."


	26. Chapter 26

In Dan's dream, he was hearing a soft tapping sound and could not figure out the source. He was in his bedroom, turning over every little thing trying to find the source of the sound but everything else was silent. In real life, he covered his head with a throw pillow to try to drown out the very real knocking at the door of the loft.

"Don't worry, sleeping beauty," Jenny said, and he hear the screeching of chairs against the floor and footsteps to the door, "I'll get the door while you sleep through the entire holiday."

"Thanks, Jen," Dan mumbled, turning around to face the cushions to avoid any light.

He pressed the pillow harder against his ear to try and avoid the onslaught of unwanted sounds piercing his ear drum. Why had he let Vanessa convince him to go out? It was always a bad idea to go along with Vanessa's plans.

"Oh, hey, Blair," Jenny said loudly and Dan took the heightened volume as a hint. With all of his energy (barely any), he sat up, brushed his cheeks in case there was any kind of drool and tried to pat down his hair. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Hey, Jenny, I come bearing a pie," Blair said.

Dan watched as Jenny took the pie and stepped away from the door, "Do you want to come in?"

"Hey, Blair," Dan said, waving sheepishly from the couch. Even from a distance Dan could see Blair's eyes narrow as she caught sight of him. "Please come in."

Blair stepped carefully into the loft, "My car is waiting for me outside, I really can't stay. We just finished baking these so I figured I would drop one off."

"Do you want to talk in my bedroom, maybe?" Dan said, gesturing towards his room with his thumb.

Blair looked between Jenny and Dan, "Okay. Seriously though, for a minute."

She walked towards him and Dan put his hand on the small of her back. Looking behind him, he mouthed at Jenny and asked for the time. Jenny put up her two index fingers. 11? His dad was supposed to wake him up at 9:05.

"How was your night?" he awkwardly asked. It was hard to try and make conversation with someone when you didn't know what their anger level was towards you. Dan pushed the door to his bedroom open, noticing a body-shaped lump in his bed and realizing very quickly his mistake. "Shit."

"Who is that?" Blair said harshly, brushing his hand off her back and crossing her arms.

Dan placed a hand on top of his head and grabbed at his hair, "It's just Vanessa-"

"Just Vanessa?" Blair turned on her heel and left the room quickly.

Dan saw movement in the bed, poking Vanessa with his finger, "I thought you had to leave early, Vanessa."

"What time is it?" she asked, groggily.

"11."

"A.M?"

"Yes, Vanessa. 11 AM. I need to go talk to my girlfriend and explain to her that you were innocently sleeping in my bed and this isn't what it looks like. Can you just-" Dan motioned to her in the bed, "Not be in my bed when I'm done?"

Vanessa lifted her hand slowly and motioned o.k. before Dan turned and walked out of the room.

"I'll just go to my room now," Jenny said, walking around Blair when Dan entered the living room. She gave Dan a small pat on his shoulder as she walked by and a look filled with pity.

Dan turned his head towards Blair, "It isn't what it looks like, Blair, I swear."

"Hmm."

"Blair?"

"What do you want me to say, Dan? I'm waiting for the explanation that is going to make me feel better and not just a weak, 'Oh, Blair, it isn't what it looks like.'" Blair looked down and examined her nail beds, "So go on."

"I'm not actually really sure why she was in my bed," Dan said, letting the words fall out of his mouth before he properly thought about how it sounded. "That's not what I meant. I mean, the last thing I remember is talking to you outside that party that you were no longer at."

"Continue," Blair said, giving him a small nod but still refusing to meet his eye contact.

Dan took a deep breath in, "We drank probably a little too much last night."

"You think?" Blair said with a laugh that Dan presumed to be mostly fake. "Gee, I thought you're completely sober when you were yelling outside my friends house."

"Yes, well, I probably could have made better decisions last night."

"This conversation," Blair said, motioning between the two of them, "is not making anything look better for you."

Dan heard footsteps coming from his bedroom. "Blair, Dan could barely shut up about you last night," Vanessa said as she made her way into the living room.

"Vanessa, what are you doing?" Dan mumbled.

"You told me to leave your bedroom by the time the conversation was over, so that is what I'm doing. I'm leaving," she answered, pointing towards the door, "unless you wanted me to not leave? It's all very confusing." Vanessa stepped closer to him in her attempt to get to the door, "God, Dan, did you shower yet? You smell of whiskey."

"Vanessa!" he said, pressing his hand against his forehead. "Don't you have somewhere to be? You are not helping my case."

"Well, seeing as I was more sober than you were, I figured I could be an impartial witness for your defense." She turned towards Blair, "Your boyfriend was a complete gentleman last night with only thoughts of you. It was my fault we didn't reach the party earlier as, no offense, I've been to that party last year of your friends and if I can't film it, there is no fun in it for me. I was sleeping in Dan's bedroom because after I basically dragged him up here, he collapsed on me in a drunken passed out state and I could not get him to move. I would have loved to make it home last night as now I have to figure out an alternative way to get to Vermont as my sister has left me since I over slept. It was so great to see you, Blair, as always." Vanessa put her hands together and gave Blair a small bow as she walked out, "Text me later, Dan."

Blair looked from the door to Dan, her arms still crossed. "I need to go."

"Blair," he said, reaching his arm out.

"Dan, I'm serious. I have a driver downstairs waiting for me. I can't hear you fumble through an explanation for another hour. I thought you were different," she said, her voice dropping slightly as she made her way to follow Vanessa out.

Dan quickly followed her, "Blair, I'm sorry. I'm seriously, very sincerely sorry for embarrassing you last night and having Vanessa in my room when you came… or really at all. I was not thinking clearly."

"You don't even know what you are apologizing about," Blair said, turning on the stairs to face him. "Just pick an offense and apologize for it and then move on. You can't lump everything together. They don't carry equal weight. I barely care about last night. At least the drunken calling out my name outside a house. It bothers me more that you brought Vanessa with you to the party. Or the fact that you let her distract you from coming to the party. Or the fact she was in your bed with you!"

"Blair-"

"Just let me finish, Dan!" She leaned her back against the wall, "I thought you were different from Nate in the fact that you would put aside weird feelings that you may or may not share with a friend and put me first."

"I want to put you first, Blair."

"Dan, no one forced you to drink that much."

"I was just having fun with a friend."

"A friend you know that I'm not the craziest about because I'm almost 100% sure she is carrying some kind of torch for you."

"You are the one who said I should hang out with her!" Dan argued.

"Hang out not get black out drunk, Dan. There is actually a difference. You see, I removed myself from any kind of situation I would have thought, had I recapped it to you the next day, would have made you uncomfortable. I left and went to bed. What did you do?"

"Continued to drink…"

"Dan, I'm not mad. I'm disappointed. I just expect more from you."

"Expect… not expected?"

"Why would it be expected?"

"I don't know, I just thought with you leaving my place and not settling the argument…"

"I'm not breaking up with you because we're in a fight, Dan," Blair said, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes you get too pathetic for me to stay mad at you."

Dan gave her his best puppy dog eyes, "Like right now?"

"No," Blair clarified, "I'm still mad. It's going to take more than 10 minutes for me to get over finding another girl in your bed."

"It's just Vanessa," Dan said.

"That makes it 10 times worse."

"So you're still mad but we're not breaking up… just to clarify."

Blair rolled her eyes again, "I'll talk to you later, Dan. Maybe while you're thinking of things to be thankful of today, you can remember me and also think of ways to get on my good side."

"Chocolate?" Dan called after her as she continued to descend the stairs. "Wine? A hand written apology note with my tears staining it."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," she said, calling back up.

Dan made his way back up the stairs to the loft to find Jenny and Rufus both sitting expectantly on the couch.

"Soooooo," Jenny started as he closed the door. "How'd it go?"

"I'm never touching alcohol again is how it went," Dan answered heading down the hallway to his bedroom. "Wake me up when the turkey is done. I'm going to try and forget that the last 12 hours ever happened."

"You know," Jenny called back. "I could help you with that. Let me hit you in the head really hard. I hear it helps with losing your memory!"


	27. Chapter 27

"I need to get Blair something for Christmas," Dan said, tossing a stress ball up to the ceiling as he lay on his back in his bed. Nate sat in the bed on the other side of the room half-heartedly trying to study. "Something great."

"How long have you guys been dating?"

"I guess around six months. Well, no, more like four. When I went to France."

"Dude, don't set the bar too high. You don't want to get her a great present on your first Christmas," Nate scoffed. "What if you are still together next Christmas? Then you have to top all your previous gifts. And Valentine's Day is practically the next day after Christmas, so you want to be able to at least get her something comparably to whatever you got her for Christmas."

Dan sat up, scrunching the ball in his hand. "I don't think that's how it works."

"Oh no, Dan, that's exactly how it works." Nate placed the book besides him in bed and put his elbows on his knees leaning towards Dan. "As someone who has dated Blair-"

"Don't remind me."

"As someone who has dated Blair before you," Nate continued, "I think I might be slightly more of an expert than you are with your- what did you say four? let's say four- four months of dating her."

"And like a year of friendship," Dan said, shrugging his shoulders and trying to act unbothered by the comparison on their relationships with Blair.

Nate rolled his eyes, "Fine. Plus a year served in the friend zone. Now let's compare to my relationship with her," he said, emphasizing the 'my'. "Let's estimate at around 5 years of dating, which includes a few months of being engaged, and then let's also add in time served in the friend zone… which was basically my entire life." Nate raised his eyebrows and smirked, lifting his hands and motioning towards himself. "See, expert."

"Yeah but then you cheated on her and she dumped you-" Dan was interrupted by a pillow flying across the room. "Hey!"

Nate shook his head, "We don't talk about the dark days. Let's focus on the positive things, like my vast knowledge of Blair Waldorf."

Dan sighed, "Fine, you're the expert. Tell me, oh wise one, what do you suggest for me to get Blair."

"Well," Nate said, his hand stroking his chin as though he was deep in thought, "I would say this is pretty easy. A bracelet."

"A bracelet?"

"Yeah. It's less committal than a necklace but more committal than earrings."

"What are you even talking about?" Dan said, scrunching up his face. "Dude, are you high?"

Nate laughed, "Maybe a little. Serena and I wanted to test the theory that you retain everything you study when you're high. We have this one stoner friend, literally lights up every day, and he's basically killing every class he's in. I don't suggest it though. I think I was stuck on one page for the last hour."

"Great, I'm taking advice from someone who actually thinks getting high is a valid studying method."

"Man, it was just a hypothesis and I've come to the conclusion that no, it doesn't help. My friend must just be a genius."

"Yeah, sure." Dan laid back down in his bed, "I think I'm just going to browse around or something. Maybe I'll ask Serena."

"She'll tell you what I'm telling you, to ask me."

Dan tossed the stress ball in the general direction of Nate and smirked to himself when he heard a small thump sound. "I asked you and you told me a bracelet is somewhere between necklaces and earrings on the commitment factor."

"Which I stand by. It's easy. Earnings are barely seen, especially if their hair is down. People almost never ask about earnings. A bracelet is more obvious. It's like marking your territory without throwing a ring on it. People are going to ask where she got it. Well, women will ask."

"And then what?"

"Then she will say," Nate cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound as Blair-like as possible, "Oh, this old thing? I got it from my boyfriend."

"How is that less committal than a necklace? I really think it's the weed talking, Nate. None of this makes sense. I'm going to get her… like a CD. Maybe a mix CD."

"That is the dumbest thing I've heard you say in awhile and you say a lot of dumb things," Nate said, laughing. "Who even has a CD player anymore? Are we in the 90s?"

"I think the 90s actually had tapes-"

"Who the fuck cares? You can't make her a mix CD. A bracelet, man. A bracelet is the way to go. And then, if you want to take it to the next level for Valentine's Day, you can get her a necklace."

Dan kicked down his covers and pulled them up to his chin, "You're forgetting one crucial point of this."

"And what is that?"

"I'm not exactly Nate Archibald levels of rich."

"Oh… well then maybe the mix CD."

"Really?" Dan sat up, looking at Nate. "Oh, fuck you, you're joking."

Nate was practically crying with laughter, "Of course I'm joking. A mix CD. For Blair. You should do stand up."

"Hey, Nate?" Dan said, settling back down in his bed.

"What?"

"What was in the jewelry box you got Blair for her birthday?"

"Oh, that? Earnings."

* * *

"Dan," Blair whined, "It's not Christmas yet. Why are you giving me a gift already? Just send it to France. I'll open it on Skype."

Dan was leading her up the stairs to his dad's loft in Brooklyn. He had thought about blindfolding her but decided last minute that that might be considered more creepy and probably unnecessary in the end. "It's not something you can open, Blair. And before you get your hopes up," he said, turning around and pressing his back against the door, "it's not anything big."

"Why are you putting a disclaimer on your present, Dan?" she said, trying to reach around him for the door handle. "You do that for everything. Like, Blair, you should watch this movie- but if you don't like it, that's totally cool. We might have different movie tastes. Or… Blair, you should try a bite of my dinner. It's a little hot so maybe you won't like it and that's cool too. You know, I don't like it that much either if you don't like it."

"Are you mocking me before I give you a present?" Dan asked, scrunching up his face and bopping her lightly on the nose with his index finger. "Well, then, let's just turn around. How's that for a disclaimer."

"Come on, Dan," Blair said, making another attempt to open the door to the loft. "Just let me in. It's cold in the hallway!" She pulled her coat closer to her body for dramatic emphasis. "Do they not heat your building?"

Dan shrugged, "I don't know. Probably not."

"Where's your dad and Jenny anyways? Are they the present? A night in with the Humphrey's?"

"I see you are still going with the mocking me route. Let's just go," he said, stepping away from the door and taking her hand and pulling her gently to the stairs.

"Dan! Come on. I want to see it." She leaned towards him, letting her hands press into his waist, "And if your family isn't home, maybe we can break the no girls in Dan's bedroom rule." She raised her eyebrows, "How's that for a Christmas present?"

"God, Blair, now we really can leave. Thanks for ruining my present," Dan said, struggling to keep a straight face. "I had to ask my dad politely to leave so I could sneak a girl into my bedroom and she goes and ruins the surprise."

Blair laughed, kissing him softly on the neck, "Mmm, might be a ruined surprise but we can still have fun."

"Seriously though, we should go in," Dan said, reaching for the door of the loft, "or I think I might burn down the building with an over use of candles."

Sliding the door to the loft open, Dan led Blair into the apartment which was softly glowing with many flickering candles lighting up the space. On the kitchen table there was a home cook meal of Dan's dad's famous pasta recipe (which Dan borrowed and mostly made himself).

"Dan," Blair said, looking around. "This is, wow-"

"I mean," he said, pressing his hands into his pockets, "I had help. Jenny kind of took one side with some matches and I took the other. And my dad supervised the cooking."

Blair reached over and swatted his arm, "Stop putting a disclaimer on things."

"So, is it okay?"

"Of course it's okay," Blair said, leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Dan, it's lovely. It's really, really thoughtful."

"I'm sorry it's not anything with a bow, although I'm sure Jenny has something in her room that I could go grab."

"You really are the worst," Blair said, laughing softly. "Stop apologizing." She leaned into him, resting on her toes as she lifted her head to kiss him. "It's amazing."

Dan kissed her before quickly pulling away, "We should, uh, probably blow some of these out. I really am kind of afraid that I'm going to burn down the building."

* * *

"So," Dan said, leaning into the couch with a hand on his stomach, "I have to give myself, the chef, props for that meal."

"It was," Blair nodded, snuggling into his side, "extremely delicious. You know, with your diet of ramen noodles and take out, I didn't realize you could cook."

"Neither did I," Dan said, laughing. "I made the exact same meal last night for my dad and Jenny."

"You never said where they were."

"Dad got Jenny a pair of tickets to a show on Broadway. They'll be back at some point. Jenny hinted to me that she would try to keep Dad out late, but I think he'll see through that. He's being very serious about the no girls in my bedroom rule he just implemented."

Blair laughed, interlocking her fingers with his. "Well, thank you for this early Christmas present. I'm sorry it had to be early. I love Christmas in the city, but my dad sent the ticket," she raised her shoulders, "and my mom said I should probably go and start talking to him again. Might as well go on a holiday when he is bound to spend a lot of money on me so he is back in my good graces."

"Sometimes I'm very glad you weren't alive during the time of, like, Henry VIII. I think with all your scheming you would be one of those wives that go beheaded."

"I'm much more savvy than that Dan. My head will stay right where it should be all the time. I would have never let Henry's eye wander. And I would have at least stolen a son to make sure he was happy with his heir."

"Stolen?"

"I'm presuming I am Anne Boleyn and didn't naturally give birth to a healthy child. I would have demanded a child. I am queen, give me that healthy looking male newborn so I can keep my head."

Dan's phone went off on the other side of the room. He stood, letting her hand fall out of his. He started to laugh as he reached his phone and read what was sent to him.

Blair leaned forward from the couch, "Who is it?"

"Jenny." Dan said. He returned to the couch and read the message out to her. "This is your five minute warning to not be in your bedroom when we get back."

"Funny," Blair said, reading over his shoulder. "It's nice that you have that kind of relationship."

"Yeah, she's not too bad."

"I still remember the look of absolute panic you had at that party. Obviously not a great moment to throw it back to but I just remember thinking that there was a guy who cared more about his sister than almost anything else in the world. It was very refreshing to see."

Before Dan could respond, he heard a sound at the door before it was thrown open. Jenny and Rufus came in, talking about something in the show as Dan sat open mouthed at his sister. He held up his phone, "You said five minutes!"

"Five minutes for what?" Rufus said, looking between his two children.

Jenny rolled her eyes, "Nothing, Dad. I was just giving him an accurate estimate of how long it would be until when we arrived home which I sent exactly five minutes ago."

"Well, I just got it."

Jenny lifted one shoulder up non-chalantly, "Well, it doesn't seem like it mattered anyways, Dan, so why are you complaining?" Jenny rolled her eyes, before turning to Blair, "Hey, Blair! How was the family assisted night?"

"It was, like, minimal assistance," Dan said, turning his head to his girlfriend. "Some candles being let here or there."

"It was great," Blair said, ignoring Dan. "How was the play?"

"Fantastic," Rufus interjected before sitting down on the other side of the couch. "Don't mind if I sit here?"

"I do," Dan answered which everyone ignored as Jenny took her place on the arm chair.

"Jenny, what do you think the best part was? The actors they had in it were incredible. I mean, I knew they would be talented because it was Broadway but it was just… so incredible."

Dan and Blair stood inside the doorway, watching as the taxi pulled up to the street. "Thank you," Blair said, her hands inside Dan's pockets. "That was a really nice evening."

"Sorry about Jenny and my dad. I didn't realize they would want to talk about the play for an hour."

Blair laughed, "Don't apologize. I said it was a nice evening. I meant all of it."

"Really? Don't you think they are… I don't know… not that great to hang out with?"

"Dan, they're your family," Blair said, resting her forehead against his chest. "I wish I had that."

"Well, maybe you can thaw out the ice with your dad on this trip."

"Even then," Blair said, holding up a finger to the cab as it beeped behind her telling it to wait a minute, "it won't be like that."

"You are welcome to my family anytime you want."

"And that," she said, looking at him, "sounds like a great end to your Christmas present." Blair leaned up, pressing her lips on to his before moving her hands to his face.

Dan pulled her closer to him, wrapping one arm behind her back as he pushed a piece of hair out of his face.

The taxi beeped behind them again and they reluctantly pulled away from each other.

"I'll see you in two weeks," Blair said, leaning up for one last quick kiss. "Oh, and I gave Jenny your present. I didn't want to give you the opportunity to peek."

"Hey," Dan said, throwing his arms up as she walked away. "You don't trust me?"

Blair laughed, "Of course I do." She slid into the backseat of the cab and lowered the window to blow him a kiss. "I'll call you on Christmas. Don't even think about asking Jenny for it until then."


	28. Chapter 28

Dan groaned, hearing his phone go off next to him. It had always been a Humphrey tradition to sleep in as late as possible on Christmas because whoever got up first had to make the breakfast for the other two (three when Dan's mother was still in the picture). Dan opened up one eye, trying to figure out if he had forgotten to turn off a stray alarm for school or if someone was truly interrupting his dream of winning the Pulitzer.

It was the second.

Dan rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up quickly as he saw his reflection on his phone screen from the FaceTime call from Blair and it was not a good look. He yawned as he slide to accept the call.

"Oh, did I wake you?" Blair said, looking in to the camera from her phone. "I'm so sorry, Dan! I can call back later."

"No," Dan said, his voice cracking. "It's fine. I should get up anyways. What time is it?" he asked, looking around his room to see if anything had a clock on it.

"It's around noon here," Blair said, biting her lip and looking guilty. "For some reason, I thought it was later. I think it's because I've been up since 6-"

"6?" Dan asked incredulously. "Why are you up so early? It's not like you believe that there's a magical old man creeping into your house early in the morning and leaving you presents."

"It's the excitement, Dan," Blair said, her lips downturning into a small frown. "It's just the idea of Christmas and I love Christmas."

"I thought Thanksgiving was your favorite holiday," Dan said, trying to stifle a yawn and failing.

Blair scrunched her eyebrows together, "It is but loving one holiday doesn't mean you can't love another one. Dan, do you want me to call you back? Maybe closer to 2? That would be like eight your time?"

Dan propped himself up in his bed, scratching his chest, "No, it's fine. I'm up, I'm up." He was barely keeping his eyes open but they had barely a chance to talk since Blair landed in France that he didn't want to blow the opportunity if she had a free minute.

"Dan, I will be so offended if you fall asleep while we're talking so why don't you just go back to bed? Just call me when you are up."

"Are you sure?" he asked through another yawn. "I could just make some coffee?"

Blair laughed, "Dan, it's fine. Just go back to bed. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with your morning breath."

"Ha… ha," Dan said, sliding back down into his bed and glad to give up the guise of being away. "I'll call you when I wake up. Merry Christmas, Blair."

"Merry Christmas, Dan!"

* * *

Dan woke for the second time that morning to the smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen to his bedroom. Grabbing at a shirt on the floor of his bedroom, he slipped it on and reluctantly placed his feet on the ground. Checking his phone, which read a more acceptable time of 9:30. Dan opened his door slowly and stuck his head out, "Is there coffee?"

"Of course," Rufus's voice said back to him, a hint of laughter playing under the surface. "You think I would tempt my kids with bacon and not be ready with a full pot of coffee?"

Dan shuffled from the safety of his bedroom to the kitchen where Jenny was leaning her elbows on the counter and eating a piece of bacon that was on a plate in front of her. "Sleeping beauty," Jenny said, looking over to him. "Although, and I told this to dad, I believe you should be the one cooking us breakfast."

"And why is that?"

"I heard you up this morning. I was shaken from my sleep from this screeching sounds- like an animal dying… except it was your voice."

"Jenny, it's Christmas," Rufus said, pointing the spatula at her. "Be nice to your brother."

"Okay," Jenny said, rolling her eyes, "sorry, not like a dying animal. Maybe like a tortured animal."

"Better," Rufus said, laughing.

Dan made a face at his sister before reaching his hand to grab a piece of bacon for himself. "It's not my fault that I have a girlfriend who wants to talk to me. Imagine that?"

"I just can't," Jenny said. "If I were you, I wouldn't taunt me about anything. I hold your fate in my hands."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Don't act like you forgot Jenny has your Christmas gift from Blair," Rufus said, his back towards the kids as he continued to cook the eggs. "I've seen you by her room, trying to peek into her room."

"I was just trying to make sure she was living a clean life, Dad. I don't want you have to live with a slob."

"Yeah, okay, Dan," Jenny said. "That's really believable."

"You know," Rufus said, turning around with the pan in his hand, "some people really hate holidays and I just can't see why with kids with mine." Rufus put the pan of eggs on the table and watched as both of his kids hurried from the counter to the table. "Sure, don't let the cook eat first."

Jenny took her full plate of eggs and bacon to the couch and grabbed the remote, "Good things come to those who wait, Dad."

Rufus looked down at the nearly empty plan, "I don't think that counts for when it comes to breakfast."

"Maybe you should have made more eggs," Dan said, swallowing a forkful of his breakfast. "Can we put off opening presents by a couple minutes?"

"Come on, Dan. First you make us wait for breakfast because you cheated this year and now you want wait for presents?" Jenny said, throwing a pillow at him. "You can't ruin every Christmas tradition."

"I just want to call Blair."

"Or, you open her present and call her after," Jenny said, sighing loudly as though that was obvious. "And then you can thank her while crying that you miss her so much."

"I meant to ask you, Jen," Dan said, looking over to his younger sister. "When exactly did you get the present from Blair because I don't think she brought it when I made her dinner?"

Jenny shrugged, "A magician never tells the secrets to their tricks."

"And now you're a magician?"

"Well, I have the ability to make your present disappear."

"And apparently three eggs and a fistful of bacon," Rufus said, from the other side of the couch while eyeing Jenny's plate.

Jenny scowled, "Don't judge me. I was hungry. I've been preparing for breakfast since dummy over here woke me up. Don't blame me, blame him."

* * *

"Hi," Blair answered her phone, the screen showing her in the hallway of her dad's house. "I can't really talk for long. We're having dinner with some of my dad's friends. Based on their age, I would say they are more Roman's friends but France is weird."

"Sorry for calling so late," Dan said, his back against his headboard. "We ended up getting distracted watching a stupid movie my dad bought Jenny."

"Don't worry about it," Blair said, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. "It's Christmas. If you were going to watch a movie with your family, this is a pretty good day to choose."

"I know, I just… when do you come back?"

"Right before New Year's. I changed my flight. How boring would it be to spend New Year's with my dad, Roman and a bunch of French models?"

"Yeah, probably best you come home," Dan nodded. "I wouldn't want you to bore yourself around some models."

Blair smiled, "How is your Christmas so far?"

"It's good! Jenny got me some books and my dad got me a gift card for the Apple store to put to a new lap top."

"Anything else you opened?"

"Oh, right, can't believe I forgot," Dan said, playfully hitting himself in the forehead. "My mom sent over some new clothes for me and Jen, which was nice to even think of us. Sometimes she gets so wrapped up in her art that she forgets its December and we get presents in March."

"Well, that was nice of her," Blair said. She suddenly turned her head to the side and was talking to someone out of frame, "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute. I'm just talking to my boyfriend." She turned her head back and shrugged, "One of Roman's friends. He brought the dessert and told me earlier that he would consider it a crime against our budding friendship if I didn't devour an entire piece."

"Do you have to go?"

Blair looked down the hallway again and back to Dan, "I think I can get away with a couple more minutes." Blair started to walk down the hallway and Dan was transported to a familiar bedroom and the last summer, which felt more than a couple months removed from normal life. "Do you want to know what I got?"

"Of course," Dan said, placing a hand behind his head.

Blair looked around her room and turned around her phone to show Dan an enevelope, "In here was a very lengthy apology letter that was in my dad's handwriting but I suspect dictated by Roman. Either way, I'll take it." She turned the camera to the closet, "And they both pitched in to buy me some very nice things from their favorite French designers. And here," Blair said, pointing towards a mirror, "they got me this mirror for my bedroom here. Roman said if I was going to spend anytime looking at myself here it should only be in the finest glass."

"Very nice," Dan said, taking Blair in in the mirror. She was wearing a short black dress with a red headband pushing her hair back from her head. "Well, I for one am glad for the mirror. You look very nice."

Blair smiled, turning the phone back around, "Thank you. I was debating wearing this dress for New Year's as there will be no pictures of me wearing it tonight."

"Double dipping in your wardrobe?" Dan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I know," Blair said, pursing her lips together. "How absolutely scandalous of me. Also, about New Years, one of my high school friends is having a party if you want to go to that with me? Serena also mentioned her and Nate were going to a bar, but that was being rented out by Chuck Bass and I know how you feel about him…"

"Super warmly obviously," Dan said, taking a sharp breath. "Whatever you want to do, Blair. I was just planning on watching the ball drop on my computer the next morning as I would be sleeping through that."

"Well, we can't have that." Dan could hear a door open on the other side of the line and instinctively moved his head to look at his own dad. He could hear a male voice talking to Blair and Blair nodding. "One more minute," she told the person off screen. Dan heard the door close and her attention return to him. "It was my dad. I should be going."

"I forgot to mention my favorite present," Dan said, holding up a photo book that had been placed on his nightstand.

Blair smiled naughtily, "You know that if we ever break up, I will watch you burn that."

"So I should make copies now?"

"Very cute," Blair said. "I hope you didn't open it in front of your dad."

"God, no. Although it was kind of hard to convince them that you only had packed a scarf in the box."

"I mean," Blair said, "It is Burberry. It's a very nice scarf."

"It is very nice," Dan agreed but waved the book around, "but this was nicer."

"Something a little nice, something a little… not so nice. I'll be on both of Santa's lists this year."

"You sure will," Dan said, laughing. "And both my dad and Jenny wanted me to send you their thanks for their gifts as well. You're making me feel very inadequate not getting something to send over to your dad and Roman… or even your mom, who is in the city."

Blair shook her head, "Don't. I would be worried that you were having Jenny do all your holiday prep if you handed over me presents to give to my parents." Blair looked to the door, "I should go, my dad's definitely tapping on the door now." Blair blew him an air kiss, "I am very much looking forward to seeing you when I get back."

"Me too. I think there were some outfits in this book that I haven't seen in person."

"We can go through my closet together to find them," she said, with a wink.

"Are you sure you don't want to change your flight to tonight?" Dan said, smirking.

Blair laughed, "I wish."


	29. Chapter 29

"Are we not allowed to hang out?" Vanessa said, as she spooned a mouthful of eggs into her mouth. "Because of before?"

"Dan's on a tight leash," Jenny said in a sing song voice before making a whip sound.

Dan flipped both of them off just at the moment that his dad chose to come in to the kitchen and received a stern look from him. "What? They're both being insufferable."

Rufus looked at the two girls, giving their best wide eyed stare and then back at Dan. "They look like angels to me. Are you a little grumpy for being on… what did you call it, Jen?"

"A tight leash!" she cheerfully responded.

"Right, a tight leash," Rufus laughed. "She's not wrong."

Dan brought his hand off before realizing that flipping off his dad might have disastrous consequences. Instead, he took a deep breath in through his nose and rolled his eyes. "I'm not on any leash."

"So, come out with me!" Vanessa said between bites. "It's going to be low key. We're playing board games."

"At a bar."

"Where you are free to order water," Vanessa said, looking quickly at Rufus and then rushed to finish her sentence, "since we are underage and that's all we should be drinking." Dan shook his head, a mop of curls falling in to his eyes. "You know, you should really cut that. We could match!" she said, rubbing a hand over her shaved head. "Blair would love that."

"Maybe she'll shave hers off in an effort to one up you," Jenny commented. Dan shot a look at her and Jenny put her hands up, "What? I'm just joking. You know I like Blair. I just like Vanessa more."

"Hashtag Team Vanessa," Rufus said, cracking himself up at his little social media joke. "Dan, you can always stay home with tonight. The band is coming over and we're going to have a little jam session in the living room." He pretended to play guitar for a moment while both of his children looked on in horror.

Dan shook his head again. "Both of those options sound like no go's. I don't think cruel and unusual punishment by being forced to watch middle aged men who mostly turned into bankers play music is a viable option if I want to not throw myself out of a window. And if I don't want to get pushed out of a window, I should really not go to Ruby's bar again."

"There is no way Blair would push you," Jenny argued. "She seems more of a slow torture kind of girl. I have a feeling she would start by removing your fingers and then-"

Dan put his hand up, "Please feel free to not finish that thought." He was startled by his phone starting to vibrate on the kitchen island. He grabbed the phone, pressed answer and excused himself out of the kitchen. "Nate?"

"Hey! What are you doing tonight?"

"Funny, I was just debating what I should do with my family. I know, very glamourous-"

"Let's go out. Serena has something and all my other friend are out skiing… or on an island. Which I should be, but my dad revoked my invitation when he saw my grades. I only failed one class, and it didn't even really count. It's not my fault that I forgot to drop it. I already have an appointment with the teacher tomorrow to see if I can charm my way into a passing grade."

"And how are you going to do that?" Dan asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Nate paused, "I'm charming when I want to be. So… want to go out tonight? Low key."

Dan bit his lip, trying to factor in this third option with his other two he was currently juggling. He thought that Blair would put Nate just slightly over Vanessa in terms of who she wanted him to hang out with. "Yeah, sure."

"Cool," Nate said. "Cool, cool. I'll text you my address."

Dan walked back into the kitchen, avoiding the three other people who occupied it's eyes on him. "What?" he finally asked, looking at the three of them.

"Who was it?" Vanessa asked, her eyebrows raised.

"My roommate."

"Your girlfriend's ex boyfriend?" Jenny asked. "You guys have such a weird friend group."

"I'm going to go out with him for a bit tonight," Dan said, nodding his head as he said it. "Low key."

"I'm coming!" Jenny and Vanessa said at the same time.

"No," Dan said, looking at Jenny and then he turned his head to Vanessa, "and… no."

* * *

"Dan!" he heard a familiar familial voice and cringed even before turning around. Nate had brought him to a dive bar, if there was even such thing as dive bars in the Upper East Side, to avoid anyone he knew. However, somehow, Jenny and Vanessa both found them. "What a weird coincidence to find you here!"

"Jenny," Dan said, groaning. "Go home."

"That's no way to treat your sister," Jenny said, taking the bar stool next to Nate. She pushed a piece of her long blond hair behind her ear before turning to Nate, "I'm Jenny. You're Nate. We've kind of met before."

Nate looked at Jenny and then to Dan and then finally, to Vanessa. "And you must be the videographer," he said, a tight smile forming on his face. "Has Dan written you a formal thank you note for getting him with Blair?"

Vanessa nodded, "In calligraphy, no less. Our Dan here is a master with a pen."

"What are you two doing here?" Dan said, looking down at his drink. "I thought you both had other plans."

"We did," Jenny said, "and then we changed them. It wasn't that hard to find you when I know your password for your phone to locate your iPhone."

"Resourceful," Nate said, turning his head to Jenny. "You know, you look nothing like Dan."

"I got all the looks," Jenny said, flipping her hair. "And the brains… we're still trying to figure out what Dan was blessed with."

"A high school diploma, Jen," Dan answered, tilting his head to her. "Remind Nate what grade you are in."

Jenny blinked her eyes a couple of times at Dan, "Age is just a number."

"An important one when you are underage," Dan said, smiling at his younger sister who slumped down. "So, let's get you two home. Nate and I were just-" Nate had his hand up signaling the bartender. "Right, the ch-"

"Four drinks," Nate said to the bartender. "We'll take two whiskey gingers and… wine? beer?"

"I'll have a gin and tonic," Jenny said.

"I'll just have whatever is on tap."

"We have a lot on tap," the bartender said.

"Then choose for me," Vanessa said, turning away from the bartender before she could argue. "So, Nate, tell me how it was losing out your girl to a boy from Brooklyn?"

Nate let out one laugh, "Do you want to get out your camera?"

"I would if Dan wouldn't kill me. I'll just fill this part in with reenactments when I eventually make it into a film." Vanessa tapped her temple twice, "I'm storing everything you say up here."

Nate clapped Dan on the back, "Dan was a worthy opponent. And I have nothing against Brooklyn."

The bartender reappeared with their drinks and Nate handed over his card, "Late Christmas gift on me."

Dan stared straight ahead, regretting that he didn't choose to stay in his room with soundproof headphones on.

* * *

"Wait," Blair said, leaning in to the camera. "Tell me again, who were you with?"

"It was just Nate and me," Dan said, his lap top propped up on his legs as he propped himself against his bed frame. "And then, little resourceful Jenny cracked my password and stalked me with Vanessa there."

"That's a weird group," Blair said, leaning back and shaking her head slightly. "Why were you hanging out with Nate?"

"We're friends."

"Dan…"

"We're not not friends," he corrected. "It was either that or listen to my dad's old band… or hang out with Vanessa."

"Okay, well, I guess I see your logic in choosing Nate then. Except not really. You could have gone to the library and gotten your semester started early. I know how much you love that," Blair said. "But you look positively radiant for someone who had a late night."

"I didn't have a late night," he corrected, putting his finger up. "No, no, I wouldn't get myself into that mess again. I dragged Jenny out of there after her first drink. I actually think there might be heel marks in the floor from where she dug in to try and stay."

"And Vanessa?"

Dan pursed his lips, "Who knows?"

"Well, I would hope that Nate has some kind of standards," Blair huffed.

"I know you don't like her," he sighed, "but I'm not going to pretend she's a beast and that Nate would be really scraping the bottom of the barrel."

"Him and Serena are just getting to an okay place."

"Nate said they were on a break."

"They're on a perpetual break. Their break is equivalent to everyone else's dating."

"Well, I'm just saying I don't know what time either of them left."

"Yuck," Blair said, pretending to gag. "Gross."

"Blair, she's still my friend."

"We don't have to like all of each other's friends, Humphrey."

"You don't have to be rude to me about her either," Dan said.

Blair stared into the camera, "Do you want me to count my legitimate reasons for not liking Vanessa again? Or have you memorized them yet?"

A tense silence started to build, even with an ocean between them Dan could feel Blair's chilly gaze. "Look, I should go. When does your flight get in tomorrow?"

"Why? Do you and Vanessa want to come pick me up?"

"Blair."

"Humphrey."

"Are we back to that?"

"When you act this unreasonable, then yes."

"Was it 6 PM?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it was 6 AM… or 3 PM."

"Okay."

"That's it?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, I was hoping you had more of a fight in you," Blair said. "I'll just text you when I land. Are we still on for that party for New Year's?"

Dan nodded.

"Turn off the Find Your iPhone," Blair said. "It's invite only, I wouldn't want Vanessa to get turned around at the door as she tried to follow you around Manhattan."


	30. Chapter 30

"This won't work," Blair said, tossing another one of Dan's shirts from his closet on to the floor. "And neither will this. Or this. Do you have anything thats not a black v-neck?"

"Some of those are dark gray," Dan corrected, trying to quickly rehang all of the shirts she was discarding. "And that one is navy," he said, shooting his hand out quick to catch the falling shirt. "Can't you just push the hangers to the side?"

Blair glared back at him, "It's offensive to me that you use plastic hangers. Almost as offensive as you having no viable options on what to wear tonight." She turned and took in the mess that was now his room, "You should probably clean this."

Dan bit his lip, trying not to argue with her. Instead, he hurriedly picked up the rest of the shirts and made as neat of a pile as he could on the end of his bed. "I didn't realize there was a dress code," he said through gritted teeth as he brushed past her to collect his hangers. "You said it was a house party."

"Right… but you don't have to show up like," she turned and pointed at him, "like… so Brooklyn?"

"So, you want me to show up looking nothing like myself?"

"A cleaner, less Brooklyn version of yourself," she nodded. Blair squinted his eyes and pursed her lips, scanning him up and down. "You should also shave and maybe get a hair cut as well. Thank God I came over so early." Dan didn't have time to respond before Blair was on the phone with what he assumed was a hair dresser talking about her boyfriend's tragic mop that was residing on the top of his head. She quickly ended the call and smiled at him, "You're in luck! I just got you an appointment with the best hairdresser in Manhattan."

Dan shook his head, "I'm not paying 100 dollars for a hair cut, Blair."

"it's on me. A late Christmas gift."

"I think you've given me enough," he said, bending and reaching underneath his bed to pull up the book she had made. "Really."

"You would just look-" she stopped talking and reached out, pulling lightly at one of Dan's curls.

"Less Brooklyn?" Dan swatted away her hand and sat on his bed, covering his eyes with his hand. "Just take Nate."

"What? Why would I do that?"

"Because I think he fits the aesthetic you are trying to present much better than I do."

"Don't be mad, Dan," she said, sitting next to him and patting his leg. "I'm just trying to help."

"How are you going to introduce me? This is Dan, my boyfriend or this is Dan, my latest project."

"You are being ungrateful. I'm not being mean, I'm just being honest."

"Sometimes you can be both mean and honest. Being honest doesn't take away from the fact that you are also not saying nice things." He dropped his hand from his eyes and looked at her, "Do you want to go alone? I'm going to be honest and tell you that I'm not going to go buy anything just for this party."

Blair pouted, "What about a blazer?"

"No."

"What if you borrow clothes from Nate?"

"Blair, I'm not from the Upper East Side. Why do you want me to pretend that I'm something I'm not?"

"I'm not asking you to pretend," she argued. "I'm just asking you to dress nicely for the party."

"Are my shirts that offensive to your friends?"

He watched as she rolled her eyes and pushed herself up from the bed, "Fine, wear whatever you want. I don't care, Dan. Did you hit your head over Christmas? You seem different."

"You told me to stop putting disclaimers before things I said. I'm taking your advice."

Blair dramatically rolled her head, "That's what you've chosen to take from that?" Her phone buzzed and she was distracted momentarily by typing back a response to whoever was trying to reach her. "I'm going to go. I need to go get ready. Wear whatever you want, Dan, but maybe try and not to appear as homeless as you did on Thanksgiving."

* * *

"Kati," Blair said, practically dragging Dan by his arm to one of her friends, "this is Dan."

Kati looked up and Dan and he felt like he was a painting where Kati was trying to figure out if it was the real deal or just a fake imitation. "I've heard a lot about you."

Dan paused for a second, waiting to hear the follow up. Good things? Bad things? But she didn't give anything. Instead she quickly turned her head, a figure of more interest to her caught her eye and she quickly excused herself.

Blair looked from the empty spot where Kati had once stood to Dan, "Are you going to be mute all night, Humphrey?"

"I thought she was going to say how all she heard was good things."

"We don't lie," Blair said, letting out a sigh.

Dan cocked his head to the side, "Why would that be a lie?"

"Oh, look, there's Isabel. Do you want to practice words before you meet her?"

Dan shook his head and let himself be dragged again. This was how the entire party felt like to him. It was a two second interaction and then the person he was being introduced to disappeared. It didn't matter if he was mid-sentence, they would leave. Blair started to look dejected. "I feel like a social pariah."

Blair, who was perched on the edge of a table, looked at him. "It's the black v-neck and-" before she finished, something caught her attention. "Oh, shit."

"What?" he asked, following her line of sight and only seeing Nate enter the party.

"Nothing," Blair said, pulling on Dan's hand so that he turned back to her. "It was nothing. Thought I saw someone but-"

"Blair," a smarmy voice floated into Dan's eardrums and Dan turned around, seeing Nate looking uncomfortable next to a guy that Dan recognized but couldn't place. "It's lovely to see you," the man said, leaning in to give Blair a quick air kiss. "And who is this?"

"Charles, this is Dan," Blair said, looking uncomfortable.

"Charles?" he raised an eyebrow. "Since when do I go by Charles. I'm Chuck," he said, extending his hand to Dan. "Nice to meet you."

It was an automatic reaction what came next. Dan pulled his arm back and connected his fist with Chuck's cheekbone. He shook his hand next to him, amazed at how much it hurt to punch someone as Blair, Nate and the rest of the party looked on in horror.

"What the fuck?" Chuck said, rubbing the spot where Dan connected. "Blair, who the fuck did you bring?"

"You tried to rape my little sister," Dan said, his voice raising.

Chuck, holding his face, glared up at him, "I'm sure you are mistaken."

"She's in high school," Dan continued before Blair grabbed him by the arm and started to pull him out of the party. "She's not even 18," Dan continued, turning his head back to stare at Chuck.

"He's clearly deranged," Chuck said to the party, ignoring Dan.

* * *

Soon, Dan and Blair were on the streets where it had started to snow since they had got in to the party. Blair was standing on the top stair as Dan had his hand out for a taxi. Neither of them were speaking to each other. Well, Dan just wasn't speaking. He was pacing up and down the sidewalk with his arm out. Blair was not speaking to him.

Dan threw his hands up, "It's useless. There's no taxi around here on New Years." He turned to look at Blair, who was refusing to look at him. The door behind her opened and Nate slipped out behind it.

"Dude, what was that?" Nate asked, looking at Dan. "Blair, you okay? Do you want my jacket?" he asked, shrugging off the coat and placing it on Blair's shoulders.

"How are you cool with him? How are any of you cool with him?"

"It was a year ago. More than a year," Nate said. "We dealt with it."

"You dealt with it? By what? Roughing him up a little? And then letting him back loose in society?"

"I'm sure it was a misunderstanding," Nate said. "I think Chuck misread the-"

"There was nothing to misread, Nate! He had my sister in a room and covered her mouth!"

"And then you and Vanessa and Jenny put it on YouTube. It was over!" Nate said.

"Blair," Dan said, turning to look at his girlfriend.

Blair looked at him, "You didn't have to punch him, Dan. The time for retribution was a year ago. Not at a New Year's Party where I'm trying to get my friends to like you." He watched as she wiped at her eye and he couldn't tell if it was the snow or tears.

"Oh, so there is a time limit on how long I can be angry at someone for doing something disgusting?"

"I didn't tell you to get over it, Dan! You don't have to like Chuck but you could have acted civilized for a minute and then we could have left."

Dan shook his head, "This is unbelievable."

Blair and Nate shared a look and Dan hated both of them in that moment. The utter arrogance of the Upper East Side was rearing it's ugly head tonight. The fact that they both thought he should have just acted like a gentleman towards the guy who almost raped his little sister was maddening.

Dan started to walk down the street. He wasn't about to get a cab in a row of brownstones. He was going to walk until he got to an area that had more bars, where he was more likely to find a cab to take him back to Brooklyn.

"Where are you going, Dan?" Blair called out after him.

Dan turned, walking backwards, "Home."

"I'll call you a car," Nate said, holding up his phone.

Dan waved him off, "I don't want any of your help. I'll find a cab."

"Dan!" Blair called after him as he turned to walk forward again. "Dan!"

Dan might have rethought his plan if she had moved from her spot on that top step, but instead she stood under the cover of Nate's jacket and so he put his head down and started to carefully navigate his way through the fresh snow.


	31. Chapter 31

"What are you doing here, Blair?" Dan asked, dismayed to find her waiting on the stairs of the loft when he returned from the library. He had so far avoided moving back to school, choosing to stay with his dad and his sister instead of having to see Nate daily. He had, as well, been avoiding Blair- which hadn't been that hard as she had barely reached out to him. It was hard to avoid someone who might have been avoiding you as well.

Blair scowled, "Don't look so happy to see me, Dan. I want to talk to you. You haven't called."

"Does your phone not work?"

"I called," she protested.

"Once?"

"Twice."

"Oh, of course," he said, hitting the heel of his hand against his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot the second time."

Blair put her arm out, blocking his path to the door, "I want to talk to you."

"Is that not what we're doing?" he asked, looking at her. "Is this not talking?"

Blair turned herself so that she was facing her entire body to him, "This is not a productive conversation."

Dan pursed his lips and crossed his arms. All he wanted to do was go and climb in his bed and sleep until the next day. The days had gotten so much longer when he had to take the train back to Brooklyn anytime he forgot a book or when he had a train ride to look forward to after staying in the library until midnight. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Invite me in."

"Why?"

"I want to talk," Blair rolled her eyes. "I already told you that."

Dan looked around, "What's stopping you from just talking out here? How," he said, pointing at her, "how did you know I was getting back?"

Blair bit the side of her lip, pausing before answering, "Serena saw you leaving the library. Nate said you haven't been to the dorm… so I figured…"

"A spy network. Nice."

"I'm not spying," she huffed. "Why are you making this so difficult?"

"I just… I think I said enough on New Years," Dan said, dramatically shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know if I have anything else to say."

"So we got in a little fight and that's it? I'm not even worth a break up text?"

This was the hard part. Dan didn't know what they were. They hadn't broken up, technically, but he had considered himself single ever since waking up on the first and having his overwhelming emotion be angry. Although, him considering himself single didn't mean anything. It was more of a state of mind than action packed adventures. But there was a part of him that wanted this to work and so he never broke up with her officially, hoping that the anger (mixed with disgust) would die.

"Dan?" she said, her fingers touching his wrist.

He looked up, avoiding her eyes. "I don't know, Blair. I don't think I can get over-"

"You know he wanted to press charges," she interrupted, dropping her arm and sitting down on the stair. She had seemingly given up her quest on being let in.

Dan sat down to the stair below her after, his bag dropping next to him. "Who?"

"Chuck. I made sure he didn't," she said proudly. "So don't worry about it."

"Do you want me to thank you?" Dan asked, his eyes narrowing. "Let him press charges. Let me get in front of a judge and say, yes, I punched him. He tried to rape my underage sister." Blair took a sharp breath in but didn't say anything. "What?" Dan asked. "Are you going to tell me I overreacted again."

"No…" she trailed off.

"Let it out, Blair. Tell me. Tell me how I overreacted. Tell me how I was uncivilized for punching a guy who almost ruined my sister's life. Tell me how I embarrassed you for reacting like that instead of just ignoring it. Honestly, I don't care. My sister and my family will always be my number one. Jenny wasn't allowed her justice because you, and Nate and Vanessa… you all pushed us in one direction. Jenny should have called the cops- I should have called the cops. He tried to take advantage of her and none of you even blinked an eye-"

"Na-"

"I know. Nate the savior punched him. How great. The more I think about that, the more angry I get. Why should Jenny's justice be in the hands of Chuck's friend? Why did we just blindly believe that? Chuck wants to press charges against me for punching him but gladly excepts Nate's beating? It doesn't add up." Blair's lips were pressed, and Dan was at least grateful that she didn't try and interrupt him again. "I will never be able to be in the same room as him knowing that. The fact you all can accept him as your friend despite that, it boggles my mind. What else has he done? What don't you know about? What has happened when there wasn't an overly concerned brother there to try and knock down the door?"

Dan was breathless by the time he stopped speaking.

Blair's hand covered his, "I'm sorry."

Dan raised his eyes and turned his head to look at her, "What?" It was the thing he had least expected to hear.

"I'm sorry, Dan."

Dan's heart ached at how sad she looked in the moment. It hurt even more when he opened up his mouth to say what he should have said that night, or any night since, "I think we're better off as friends."

Blair looked shocked, her eyes were wide and for a moment her jaw dropped. She quickly regained her composure but Dan was taken aback by the genuine emotion he had seen come through. "We don't have to go anywhere where Chuck is."

"Blair, I appreciate that you took the time to track me down using a very impressive spy ring but it's too late. It's been almost a month. Your persistence to have this conversation is admirable tonight, but you could have done it sooner. This could have happened sooner. Now, if we go back to being together… I'm going to have some sort of resentment being carried away. It's not fair, but it's true. I don't want to end up like you and Nate, tied together by some kind of loyalty. I really like you-"

"So, let's try again," Blair said, her bottom lip quivering. "Start again. A clean slate."

"I can't," he said sadly. "I want to, I do. I just can't. I'm never going to be able to forget that night. It wouldn't end well."

She lifted her hand to brush away a tear, "Dan-"

"I want to be friends."

Blair stood, brushing off her skirt, "I can't be friends with you. If we're not together… I don't want to be your friend."

Dan nodded, "Okay."

"That's it?" her face fell. "That's… we're done?"

"I told you, I want to be your friend but if you can't be my friend, then I guess, yes?" Now he started to feel tears starting to work behind the scenes to reach his eyes. He needed to stick it out for a couple of more seconds. He couldn't cry in front of Blair Waldorf.

"Well," she said, putting out her hand as though she was ending a business transaction. "I guess I'll see you around."

Dan looked at her hand for a second before shaking it. "It was my pleasure being able to be your boyfriend for a couple of months. I'll miss you."

Blair took a deep breath in, brushed off her cheeks and started down the stairs. She paused at the landing, looked back and with the same air of confidence that he had seen on the first day he met her said, "Of course you will, Humphrey."


	32. Chapter 32

Dan's leg was shaking and for that, he was thankful that he was sitting next to the window and therefore able to shake it against the plane wall and not a fellow passenger. He had been up the entirety of the flight- the six hours where he watched the sun go down over the Atlantic and then miraculously rise again as they got closer and closer to London.

He had been nervous for this flight ever since he had booked it. He had never been a big flier. The air had no appeal to him. He preferred to be on the ground, avoiding the pitfalls of the sky. The only other time that he had taken a similar long journey was his trip to France over a year ago. A lot had changed in a year, but his hatred of flying had remained.

Maybe it came from the fact that both flights were the preceding event to a nerve wrecking event: meeting a girlfriend's father and now, going abroad for a semester. Next time he was going to fly across an ocean, he was going to make sure that it was not going to be for something that scared him so much he couldn't sleep.

Because he was scared. He was terrified really. Studying abroad had always been one of his college to-do list items. However, the reality of it was much more terrifying than he had pictured when he was flipping through a book of potential locations. Dan had almost changed his location to Italy where Vanessa was headed so that he could have a built in friend.

Although he was awake still, he was still taken aback as the lights in the cabin came on. Although it was still slightly dark outside, the crew was getting ready for their passengers to greet the day. Breakfast being served at a time where Dan should still be sleeping, and although he should be hungry- his nerves got the best of him and he ended up just staring at the meal that was placed in front of him.

* * *

Dan regretted the amount he had packed- and he hadn't even packed that much. It was just turning out to be much more of a hassle than he expected to get his bags from the airport, to the train, to campus. There was supposed to be vans waiting for the students as they came to bring them to the dorm, but he had not seen one and after waiting ten-ish minutes, decided to trek to school. It was easier said than done as dragging the fifty pound bag behind him (mostly packed with his favorite foods) was turning out to be very difficult once the handle decided to break.

He had stopped, resting on a rock, for a couple of minutes when he heard the sound of laughter coming towards him. He quickly, after zipping up his jacket fully so that no one could see the probably sweat marks on his shirt from the laborious walk and tried to look casual.

What could only be described as a flock of a girls started to approach where he was sitting. Despite them having double the bags of him, they seemed to be having an easier time of it and he cursed his never used gym membership. One of the girls at the front of the pack turned to look at him, "Are you going to the school too?"

Dan nodded.

"Want to walk with us?" she said, looking back at the group behind her who all nodded their agreement.

"Sure," Dan said, standing from the rock and stretching. "I was just waiting to see if the shuttle would maybe come by."

"The stop is way back there," Amanda said, looking confused. "You must have walked past it?"

"Right, no, I mean, yes. I was just- nothing had come when I was waiting so I tried to continue to walk but I thought maybe it would come again…" he trailed off.

"We waited for awhile down there, nothing yet. But the brochure said it wasn't that far of a walk, so we decided what the hell- we can just walk. It hasn't been so bad."

Dan nodded, trying to control his breathing now that he was up and walking (and lugging the bag) again. "Are you all from the same school? Friends?"

"Oh, no," Amanda said, glancing back, "we just met on the train down here. I saw everyone with luggage and figured we were all going to the same place. I think two of them might be from the same school, but everyone else seems to be strays. Do you know anyone in the program?"

He shook his head, "No. I think it was just me from NYU."

"There's a couple of people from my school, I go to Elon, but we all had different flights. I thought about waiting for them at the airport, but like… how was I ever going to find them? I'm not shy, so I figured I could just come down by myself and do alright."

Dan smirked, "Yeah, it looks like you have a really hard time with new people." He turned around briefly, taking in the group of girls that were all talking to each other behind them.

"I'm a natural born leader," Amanda said. "I hear it all the time."

* * *

Dan heard a loud rapt on his door and he quickly wrapped the towel that he had dropped to the floor around his waist. The first thing he had done when he found his room was find the closest shower and scrub away the flight and grime he had felt gather through his walk. He had wished now that he had unpacked his clothes and had something to reach for besides the towel.

Slowly, he walked towards the door while hoping that whoever was knocking would just go away. When the knock came again, he reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open. "Amanda," he said, grabbing on to his towel to make sure that no accidents were to occur.

"Dan," she said, while brashly looking him up and down. "Are going to the welcome lunch?"

"I was going to… maybe take a nap?"

"Get dressed," she said, and something in her voice made him want to do just that. "I'll come back in ten minutes to get you. We can go down together."

"Oh… kay," he said, pursing his lips while searching for something else to say. Before he could get a chance, she had turned and walked away. He realized, as he watched her walk away and he closed her door, that she reminded him of another very confident, very bossy girl. Amanda could have been Blair's personality twin.

* * *

"So," Amanda said, surveying the room, "where do you want to sit? We could sit with the girls we walked in on… but, and I don't want to sound rude, but they seemed so uninteresting. I was very glad to come across you so I could avoid the rest of their mundane conversation. And, oh, I see my friends over there-" she pointed to a group of students that looked like they came out of an Abercrombie ad. "Let's go over there."

"You know," Dan said, looking around, "why don't you go and maybe I'll just sit over-"

Before Dan could finished, Amanda had taken his arm and started to drag him towards her friends. "Don't be silly. You'll fit right in."

Dan wanted to protest but the tone in Amanda's voice warned him not to. And he wouldn't have had he not seen something that stopped him in his tracks. "Sorry," he said, twisting his arm. "I think, I think I see-"

The girl who had stopped him in his tracks turned her head, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear and then meeting Dan's eyes across the room. Her look of horror? disgust? maybe just surprise? was mirrored by Dan. She stopped whatever she was doing and made her way across the room, stopping in front of Dan and Amanda.

Dan opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, struggling to make any sound.

The girl scoffed, "I see you haven't changed much, Humphrey."

"I thought you said you didn't know anyone," Amanda interrupted the moment.

Blair glared at her, "Who said you could speak?"

"Excuse me?" Amanda said, lowering her eyebrows. "Who are you?"

"I'm Blair Waldorf. The real question, though, is who the _fuck_ are you?"


	33. Chapter 33

Dan sat, perched, on the counter, a glass of something that was mixed by one of Amanda's friends in his hand. Almost their entire study abroad class was in the kitchen with them. It was their first Friday night together and no one seemed to want to miss an opportunity to legally drink when in their home country (for most of them), it was still a couple of months to a year out.

"17," Dan said, realizing that there was a pause in conversation as the game they had been playing got to his turn. It was some stupid counting games with rules that he had barely gotten a handle on before they were being switched. He could tell by Amanda throwing her head back and laughing that he had said the wrong thing.

"On 17 you are supposed to say 71," Amanda corrected him, reaching out from her position on a chair in front of him to playfully smack his leg. "Drink!"

"Drink!" the room cheered him on as he lifted his glass to them before painfully taking a couple of sips of the concoction. He regretted not just picking up a case of beer when they were at the store and instead getting roped into buying various alcohols with Amanda and her friends.

Amanda winked at him before starting the game again, "One… two-"

Dan slid from the counter, stretching as he took in the room. He recognized the girls from the walk to campus, Amanda and her college friends, and a couple of others who were in his classes. The room was filled with people that were abroad together, he noted. There were no regular students trying to mingle with them. Probably because, on the whole, they were obnoxious as a group.

"Are you getting another drink?" Amanda asked, not moving from her seat. "Will you get me one?" she batted her eyelashes at her.

Dan nodded. It was a better idea for him to mix his next drink himself then letting one of the Elon boys do it. They seemed to have a heavy pour. Dan made his way through the crowd of loud American students to the part of the kitchen where they were storing the alcohol. It was also filled with students, all with glasses in hand and camera phones out.

He felt a tug at his shirt as he was pulled into a picture, quickly blocking his face with his hand.

"Smile," the girl said, he recognized her slightly from around the halls. She pressed her lips against his cheek as she tried to focus the picture with one eye closed. Dan went along with it, giving a big smile and even throwing up a thumbs up for extra effect. "What's your name? I'll tag you on Facebook."

Dan and her exchanged information and seconds later his phone, now outfitted with a SIM card that would work in the UK, vibrated in his pocket. He lifted it up, accepted the friend request and started to move to the bottles of alcohol. Carefully trying to mix the drink that he thought was going to be most drinkable, Dan finally made his way back into the other half of the room.

"Where's the snobby one?" he overheard one of the Elon guys say to Amanda.

Amanda shrugged, "Who cares? Oh, Dan!" she reached out her arm and made a grabbing motion with her hand. "You are an angel. See guys, this is a true gentleman. Getting the lady a drink."

"He just hasn't learned yet that giving you what you want is a slippery slope," the guy laughed, raising his hand to give Dan a fist bump.

Dan stared at it for a second before very weakly bumping his knuckles against the other's.

"We were just talking about Blithe… Blake… Blanch?"

"It's Blair," he responded.

"Right," Amanda said, pointing at him. "That's the one. Where is she?"

Dan looked around, taking in the fact that there was an absence in the room. "Not sure," he raised one shoulder. "Not here?"

"We should go get her," Amanda said, putting her hands on the table and standing. "She wouldn't want to miss the fun."

"She likes to get places fashionably late…"

"Nope," Amanda shook her head quickly. "We're going to go get her. But first," she looked around before grabbing a girl standing on the peripherals of the room, "we're going to take a trip to the ladies room. Wait for me right there, I'll be right back."

Dan knew a bad idea when he heard one and if he could avoid that one, he was going to. Instead of listening to Amanda's command, as it could only be described, he instead fought his way through the gathering of students in the middle of the room and back to the side with the alcohol.

He settled in the corner far from the alcohol and took out his phone, opening up Facebook. The first thing he did was accept the friend request from Lana, the girl who took the picture, and the other 10 that had come in since the party started. He scrolled through his Timeline quickly, hoping the screen of his phone was a big enough cover from Amanda.

"Are you swiping right?" he heard a girl say and he looked up from the screen.

"What?"

"I assume you are on Tinder," she said, leaning over to look at his phone and then looking disappointing. "Boring. Well, if you do go on Tinder at some point, just make sure to swipe right on me. I'm Dakota." She stuck out his hand for him to shake.

"Are you… was that a line?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"Maybe. Or maybe it was just the alcohol. I am a total lightweight," she said, making a circle motion near her temple. "That was a joke. Both, actually. The tinder thing and the lightweight thing. Do you go to Elon?"

"No?"

He must have looked confused because she explained, "You've been hanging out with Amanda and that group. Elon's really small so I was wondering how I didn't know you."

"So you are part of that?"

"No," she laughed. "I mean, we're friendly. Just not friends."

"Dan!" Amanda's shriek could be heard through the room. "I was looking for you. We have to go find Blithe."

Dakota shared a look with him, "She's hard to say no to."

"Yeah, I'm finding that." Dan let out a heavy sigh before making his way through the crowd.

"Good luck," Dakota called behind him.

"Are you ready?" Amanda said, opening the door. "I found her room number. Tessa," she said, pointing to the girl she had disappeared to the bathroom with, "is her neighbor."

"You know," Dan started, "maybe I'll just go get her. I don't want to ambush her."

"What? We're like totally friends."

"Right, then why don't you just go get her then… we're not, if you couldn't tell, on like any sort of terms."

She stuck out her tongue and made a face, "Whatever, just go. But come back! With Blair."

And so, Dan, who he would describe closer to being blackout than sober, found himself in front of Blair's door. He knocked lightly, hoping that she wouldn't hear it and he could go back to Amanda at least saying he tried. As he turned from the door, he heard it open.

"Dan?" Blair asked, sounding confused.

Dan turned sheepishly giving a small wave. "Hey, uh-" Dan could see through the opening in the door that Blair was not alone. "I was just going to ask if you wanted to drink with us… but it looks like you're all set." He put his thumb and index finger together and held up the universal ok hand sign.

Blair raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, "Did you think I was sitting here wallowing that I wasn't invited to the cool kids party down the hall?"

"No, uh, I was sent here…"

"Sent? Do you have a master?"

"It certainly feels that way," he said under his breath.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. Amanda-"

Blair laughed, "Of course. Please send my regards to her, but I'll just stick it out here." Blair opened the door more, showing that there was a small crowd of her own gathered in her room. From the small chat he could overhear, it seemed that Blair had already seamlessly worked her way in with local students. "You're more than welcome to come in, but I'm sure Amanda will be asking for you and honestly I don't need her to come knocking on my door to find you."

Dan wordlessly nodded, heading away from the door. As she closed it, he could hear her describe him to the people in the room as someone that she used to know. With that verbal punch to his gut, Dan headed back to the party. Instead of turning into the room, where he could see through the glass that Amanda was holding court in the middle of the party, he kept walking and stumbled back to his room.

He flopped down onto his uncomfortable bed, not bothering to turn on the light or changing out of his clothes, and fell into a restless sleep that one could only experience after glass after glass of some kind of jungle juice. He dreamed of dueling queens, in a kingdom where he was a joker.


	34. Chapter 34

Dan heard a knock on his door. It started off softly and grew into a heavy pounding. He reluctantly shut his book that he had been studying out of and moved slowly across his room. Opening the door, he had to quickly dodge out of the way before Dakota's fist hit his face.

"Oops, thought it was still going to be the door," she said, cheerfully. "Want to come to town?"

Dan looked back at his books, "I shouldn't. I have an outline due on Tuesday."

"… it's Saturday," Dakota said, furrowing her eyebrows. "You have Sunday… and Monday."

"I don't like to leave things for last minute."

"That's like Tuesday before class. Tomorrow is plenty of time," she said. "Please?" she said, pouting. "I want you to meet my other friend." Dan looked back again at his books and then at Dakota, who could tell that he was wavering and deepened her frown. "Please, Dan?"

"Fine," he said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Fine. Let me grab my stuff," he said, stepping from the door to let her in his room.

"You keep your stuff annoyingly neat," she noted, poking around his room. "Who's this?" she asked, pointing out a picture of him and Jenny that he kept on the wall, next to the picture of him and Vanessa and him and his dad.

"Sister," he said, carefully as he was also trying to hold his keys in his mouth.

Dakota looked at the picture and then back to Dan, "You look nothing alike. She's so pretty."

"What are you saying about me?"

She rolled her eyes, "You're pretty too, Dan." She checked her watch, "Hurry up or we will miss the bus."

Dan's eyes widened as he saw the girl who Dakota was waving to at the bus stop. He shoved his hands in his pockets in order to keep them from doing anything strange and tried to put a smile on.

Dakota greeted Blair Waldorf warmly, before turning to Dan. "Blair, this is my friend-"

"Dan Humphrey," Blair finished for her. "Yes, I'm aware."

Dakota looked between the two of them, somehow ignoring all signs that this was not a close friendship, "You two know each other?" She clapped her hands together, "What are the chances! You know, Dan, I was going to ask you when you said you were from New York. But… it's like so big. I didn't want to sound dumb."

"What are the chances," Dan repeated, mumbling.

Blair had a strange smile on her face as she looked at Dan, "And how are you guys friends?"

"We met last weekend," Dakota blabbered on. "I was telling you about it, Blair, remember it? That party in the kitchen that you wisely stayed away from." Dakota turned to Dan, "Blair and I are in class together. We're the only Americans." She said it as though that one fact binded them together as friends automatically.

"Cool," Dan said, nodding. "Well, actually, maybe-"

Before he could back out of the trip to town, the bus appeared. He found the ticket in his pocket, and lined up behind Dakota and Blair. He could leave early, he supposed. He could decide that he was over town, over the seaside and head back to campus before the two of them. Before he decided on an escape plan, he was handing his ticket to the bus driver and following the two of them to the second deck of the bus.

Dakota took a seat in the back, Blair taking the one next to her so Dan was by himself in the row before them. He knew the polite thing to do would be turn around, engage in conversation but he stared ahead, watching the bus fill with students.

He felt a sharp poke in his neck and he turned around. "We were talking about where we want to go in town. We're meeting another guy from our class, Stefan, there. He's from Germany, and he has to stay in someone's home instead of the dorm. I told him I would meet him at the pier. Blair wants to go shopping though."

Blair looked at Dan, raising her eyebrows at him.

"So, I guess, we can just split up," Dakota continued. "I can go meet Stefan and them meet you two for lunch? Unless you want to come with me, Dan."

Dan could tell by the way that she looked at him that this had some how been a set up for him. "No, no, that's fine. I could get some… new shoes." He looked at Dakota, who was chatting away, and then at Blair, who was now staring at her nails. This had been a set up. Maybe a double day date. Something that was low pressure and easily an out.

He could just see how Dakota would have sold the trip to Blair. She had met someone perfect for Blair, they would get along great. They could talk about books, and New York and then Dakota, if her meeting with Stefan, didn't go well could easily use having two of her friends in town as an excuse to bail early. Dan missed his books and notebooks already.

"You know," Blair said, pushing aside another hanger, "you don't have to watch me shop. She won't know if we split up as well."

"I don't really need anything," he admitted, browsing through another row of clothes trying to find something Jenny might like. He looked at a sweater before seeing the price tag and immediately placing it back on the rack. "I was studying when she knocked on my door."

"You know," Blair said, pressing a blouse against her and looking in the mirror, "she has you all wrong. She told me that she was bringing along a nice guy, someone I would get along with. She said that you seemed intelligent and not like the other Americans, who she knows I have a lot of disdain for."

"I don't see anything false in the way she portrayed me," Dan said, following Blair through another row of clothes.

"Nice? Not like the other Americans?"

"At least she went through the trouble to describe me to you."

"How did she get you here if it wasn't through exalting my beauty?" she asked.

"She just asked me to come. I guess that's the difference between us, you need something out of a trip with a friend."

Blair rolled her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering. "Don't start."

"Is that not the truth?"

"The truth is," Blair said, turning sharply to face him, "that she was prying about my personal life and dating history came out. When she asked when my last boyfriend was, she was stunned that it was so long ago and all the sudden she had this bright idea to set us up. Obviously I was then horrified- a study abroad romance? How cliche. But she was all, 'but he lives in New York'-"

"Wait," Dan said, putting up a finger. "We're the only two here from New York?" He pointed at her and then at himself, "Wait, you knew. You knew it was going to be me."

"I might have guessed," Blair said, trying to look innocent.

"Then why did you still come?"

Blair shrugged. "How do you think this would look on me?" she asked, holding up a sheer top and turning to Dan, closing the previous conversation topic.

"I don't think she's coming," Blair said, taking a sip from her wine glass. "We might as well order food."

Dan looked at his watch and then at his phone, which remained darkened on the table. "Let's give her a couple of more minutes."

"Afraid to be alone with me at a table?" Blair asked, raising her eyebrows.

"We were alone all day," Dan countered, picking up his menu. "I just don't want to be rude."

"Rude is showing up a half hour later than planned."

Both Blair and Dan's phones lit up as she said that and both quickly grabbed at them, reading the statement from Dakota at the same put down the phone, looking at Blair and waiting for a smug smile to appear. She lowered her phone slowly, smirking at him as she swished her wine around.

"We could just go?"

"I'm hungry, Humphrey. You don't have to eat, but you will sit there while I do."

Dan let out an exasperated breath, scanning the menu quickly as Blair called over the waiter. Dan ordered a pasta dish, hoping that the awkward day would come quickly to a close if he just shoved his food in his mouth quickly. The afternoon, while awkward, hadn't been as painful as he had first imagined when he saw Blair at the bus stop. However, that wasn't to say that they were reconnecting. They had just found a nice balance between complete silence and nervous chatter.

Blair cleared her throat, "Humphrey."

"Yes?" he asked, meeting her eyes.

"I am trying to do this whole honest thing. It's new. I don't like it and I'm not particularly great at it."

"Okay?"

"I came today, despite knowing that it would be you that Dakota dragged along, because-" Blair stopped herself and bit her lip. "It's pathetic really. I'm a little homesick. You remind me of New York. Not the good part, but Brooklyn is still New York and… well, I miss it."

"Oh," Dan said, his eyes wide from surprise. "Oh," he repeated. "Well-"

They were interrupted by the waiter placing their meals down.

Blair didn't touch her fork, instead she looked at Dan.

"Well, I'm here," he said, lacking any kind of words to fill in the blanks. "We can-"

Blair shook her head, stabbing her meat with her fork, "It's fine. I told you it would sound pathetic."

"No," he said, putting up a hand. "It's not. It just took me off guard. I didn't expect that to be the reason. I was figuring more along the lines of carefully plotted revenge." Blair rolled her eyes at him. "Maybe we can… I don't know, be friends again?"

Blair laughed, "You're so formal, Humphrey. We don't need to seal our friendship with a handshake."

"But maybe we could?" Dan said, holding out his hand.

"Fine," she said, taking his hand in hers and shaking it formally. "Friends. Again."


	35. Chapter 35

"I don't think anyone here likes me," Blair said, propping herself against the counter, pouting her lips.

Dan laughed, his teeth chattering against the glass he was holding to his mouth. "And what makes you think that?"

"No one has even approached me to introduce themselves."

"It's our third week here, they know who you are."

"Okay, but," she said, her eyes scanning the room, "I maybe have talked to three of them."

Dan turned towards her, "And who's fault is that?"

"I'm shy," she said, crossing her arms.

Dan chuckled, "Sure, Blair. They don't have to come introduce themselves to you. Just mingle. Go talk to someone over there… or something."

"I bet they don't like me because that girl Amanda doesn't like me," Blair continued on, pretending as though he didn't say anything. "People always like a leader to follow. I just need to figure out how to dethrone her. When you were hanging out with her, did you spot any… weakness? Anything I can exploit? Did she tell you any deep, dark secrets?"

Dan's eyebrows raised. "Seriously?"

"I mean there is no way she is perfect," Blair said, finding the girl in the crowd and narrowing her eyes. "She pulls off the facade quite well though."

"That's not what I meant by seriously," Dan said, putting his thumb and index finger on his temples and shaking his head. "People will like you even if you aren't queen of studying abroad, Blair."

"Hmm," she said, looking up as though she was giving it some thought. "No, no. I think my plan will work. I just need to find Dakota, I'm sure she has something."

"Or," Dan said, reaching over and holding on to Blair's shoulders. "You can go and talk to some people at the party," he moved her in the direction of a group of girls in the room and gave her a gentle shove forward. "You can do it," he said encouragingly. "Just play nice."

Blair started walking to the group hesitantly. She glanced back at Dan, who gave her a thumbs up sign, and made her way slowly over to the group he had pointed out.

Dan, given the break from low key babysitting Blair, marveled at the turn of events in their friendship. Always confident Blair seemed to be out of step in the environment that she had no control over. It made the great Blair Waldorf almost seem human. Although he would never tell her that because he was afraid that she might take his head off.

He counted to ten, watching her interact with the group of girls, before leaving the spot against the wall to socialize.

* * *

"Okay, so… I'm the Queen," Blair said loudly. "No president. Pff, who wants that. I want to be born in to my right to rule. And you, Amanda, are the asshole, right?"

Dan's head spun as he tried to find the source of Blair's voice only to be relieved when he saw her sitting at the table in the middle of the room playing cards. Unsurprisingly, she had climbed her way to the top of the game Asshole and was now making as many rules as she could think of.

He pushed his way through the small crowd, many of the people that had been gathered before had already left to go to a club, over to the table to watch the game.

"Okay," Blair said, nodding her head to no one in particular. "New rule. In addition to not saying drink, you can't swear. And if you swear," she said, putting her finger up, "you have to… tell a secret about your self."

Dan could see Amanda on the other side of the table, and shook his head at Blair, who was smiling up at him. "No," he mouthed.

"Never mind," she said, rolling her eyes. "That was a good rule, but also super easy. We wouldn't know if you were lying. You have to…"

"Put your elbows on the table?" Amanda offered.

"Lame," Blair said, rolling her eyes. She put her cards down, showing her hand. "I'm over this, actually. Who wants to go out?" Pushing her chair from the table, she stood, wobbling a little before steadying herself. "Humphrey, you're coming." Dan reached out, grabbing her arm to steady her as she took a couple of stumbling steps towards him. She playfully flicked his nose, "Look at you, Prince Charming. Prince Charming of Brooklyn."

"Maybe you should stay here?" he offered. "Early night?"

"Pff," she laughed. "I am fine. I'm fine. Let's go." Blair turned to the group at the table, gesturing towards the door. "To the bus."

* * *

"I'm cold," Blair complained, as they waited in line for the club that Dakota had texted Dan the rest of the group was already in. "And hungry. I don't think I ate dinner. Did I eat dinner?" Blair asked Dan.

He shrugged in response, leaning on his toes to try to get a better look at the line. They had been standing outside for five minutes already and it was an unusually chilly night for the end of September. "Did you?"

Blair shook her head, "I don't think so. Can we get food?"

"So you don't want to go in the club?"

"No," Blair said, closing one eye to focus on him. "I do. Can we get food after?"

"Sure, Blair," he said, nodding.

"It is super cold out," Amanda said from behind them. She moved to stand next to Dan, wrapping her arm around his back. "Body heat is supposed to be the best heat."

Blair's face hardened and Dan quickly squirmed out of Amanda's reach. "Yeah, well, I'm actually quite warm," he lied, fanning himself with his shirt for emphasis. "And I'm sure it's going to be really hot in there."

Blair linked her arm with Dan's, staring at Amanda. "If you wanted to not hit on my ex boyfriend in front of me," she said, suddenly sounding sober, "that would be great."

Amanda took a step back, putting her hands up. "Sorry, it was just a little cold."

Dan looked down at Blair, "I thought you were worried about people not liking you."

"I found people tonight who did. I don't need everyone to like you. If everyone likes you," she said, her words slightly slurring together again, "you're doing something wrong." Blair leaned out of the line, looking at how far away the door was, and then back to Dan. "Take me home, Humphrey? I'm tired."

"What about hungry?"

"Mm, breakfast is just a couple hours away," she replied, yawning into her hand. "I just want my bed. Water and my bed and a blanket."

Dan turned around to the group behind them, "We're going to head out, I think. The line doesn't seem to be moving. Blair's tired."

"Blair," Dan shook Blair gently. Her head was buried into his side, and she was sleeping peacefully in the back of the cab he had gotten for them. "We're here."

"What?" she said, rubbing her eyes. "Where?"

"The dorm." he said, opening the door and trying to slide out of the car without having her fall out of the cab. Dan leaned down, putting an arm around her and pulled her out after him. Having paid the taxi driver, he prayed that the minimal hours he spent working out would enable him to get her upstairs and into bed. He bent down, putting his other arm behind her knees and lifted her off the ground.

"Don't drop me, Humphrey," she mumbled into his chest. "You are carrying precious cargo."

"I'll do my best," he said, taking careful steps into the dorm and up the stairs. "What's your room number?" Blair mumbled something incoherent. "You need to repeat that," he said, patiently as he avoided slamming her head into the door frame of the staircase.

Once he found her room, after he made her repeat the room number many times, Dan fumbled with Blair's key and let himself into her immaculately neat room. "Do you even live in here?" he asked rhetorically. He placed the sleeping Blair in the bed, covering her with the comforter that she must have purchased herself because it bore no resemblance to the one that the school sold. "Good night, Blair," he said, walking back to the door.

"Wait," she said, reaching out and lightly holding his wrist. "Thank you," she muttered, burying her head into the pillow. "Thank you," she repeated, her voice trailing off as she fell back into a drunken slumber.

Dan stood there for a moment, looking down at Blair before leaving the room, smiling to himself.


	36. Chapter 36

"Dan!"

Dan looked up from his seat in the cafeteria and watched as Blair led Serena and Nate through the maze of tables. He gave a weak wave to the two Upper East Siders who were headed his wave, putting in his bookmark between the pages and closing the book he had been flipping through. He stood from the table, giving Nate a brief, but firm, handshake before Serena threw her arms around his neck. "Hey, Serena," he said, giving her a small squeeze.

"It's so nice to see you," she said. "We've all missed you." Serena stepped down, squeezing his upper arms.

Dan smiled bashfully, running a hand over his head. "It's nice to see you guys, too."

"Enough with the sappy small talk," Blair said, putting her arms between the two of them and separating them. "Are you done eating, Dan? We were going to go to the grocery store and get some snacks and drinks for the weekend. Do you want to come?"

He looked down at his full plate and back at Blair, "I just got here. I'll stick around here."

Blair huffed, "Fine. Suit yourself. Don't complain at the drink choices tonight. Oh, but since you're around, can you see who is around tomorrow? I want to go out with Nate and Serena. They both seem to want to hang out in my room tonight, something about being tired from flying, but I was thinking we can go out tomorrow?"

Dan opened his mouth to respond, but Blair had already turned around and was motioning for Serena and Nate to follow her.

"Well, see you guys later, I guess," Dan said. Serena gave Dan a quick pat on the shoulder and Nate shrugged as he walked by.

* * *

When Dan walked in to Blair's room, he quickly noted that Nate and Blair were sitting next to each other so that their legs were intertwined in front of them in the floor. "Hey," he said awkwardly, closing the door behind him.

Blair quickly moved away from Nate on the bed where they sat. "Dan," she said, her voice catching. "Serena just went to the bathroom quickly. Nate was just showing me something on his phone."

Nate held up his phone for illustration. Nate, in his credit, was keeping his face neutral as he acknowledged Dan's presence in the room with a nod. "We have a ton of beer in the fridge in the kitchen," Nate said. "If you want anything to drink."

"I'm good," Dan said, holding up his water bottle that he was clutching. "I figured I'd take it easy tonight if you guys are wanting to have a big night tomorrow."

"We might go out tonight too," Blair said, looking at Nate who was nodding in agreement. "Nate and Serena napped when we got back to the store, so they are feeling very refreshed."

"Are you guys still in New York?" Dan asked, sitting down at the desk chair.

Nate shook his head, "I'm in Barcelona. Serena is in Copenhagen. I was visiting Serena in Copenhagen for a couple of days before we headed here. It's really not a long flight, but we went out last night. The Danes know how to drink."

"Cool," Dan said, looking around the room and avoiding either of their eyes. He felt unsettled, as though he was pushed off his axis. He knew Nate and Serena were visiting, what he didn't know that Nate might have wormed his way from friend to something more with Blair. And Dan didn't know what to think of that. It might have been almost a year since they dated, but he still felt protective of Blair especially given that Nate and her's rocky relationship was what pushed them to be friends in the first place.

He was interrupted out of his thoughts when Serena opened the door. She looked at Dan and then he noticed she glanced quickly back to the bed. "Dan! I'm glad you made it. We were just talking about how long it had been since we all hung out."

"Super long," Dan said, his voice monotone.

Serena cocked her head to the side, "You okay, Dan?"

"Actually," he said, standing from the chair, glad to be given an out. "I don't really feel the greatest right now. I think I'm going to go lay down, maybe have an early night." Before anyone could stop him, he had crossed the room and quickly exited. He picked up the pace once the door closed safely behind him.

He heard the door open behind him and he had to actively stop himself from walking faster. "Dan?"

Dan turned on his heel, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Serena."

"Hey," she said, pushing a piece of hair out of her face. "I know you said you didn't feel well, but…" she trailed off, biting her lower lip. Dan waited. She took a deep breath in, "Can I stay in your room tonight? I don't… particularly want to be bunking with the two of them."

"Oh," Dan said, surprised. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

Serena's eyes brightened, "Seriously? Thank you. I'm sure you can guess as to why."

"Yeah, uh…"

Serena's face fell, "Oh. Oh, Dan, did you- did she not tell you?"

"Are they together?"

Serena ran a hand through her hair, stopping at the ends and examining them. "I don't think it's official or anything. It's more along the casual lines than anything."

"Right," Dan said, looking to the room where Blair's head had popped out and was staring back at him. "Well, Blair knows my room number. If you want to just come on down whenever. You can take the bed."

"No," she shook her head. "Blair actually got an air mattress, so I can just bring that down. I'll be down soon," she said, leaning on her toes and kissing him quickly on the cheek. "Thanks, Dan."

She turned away, walking down the hall and past Blair who was now walking towards Dan. "Humphrey," she said, her voice raised slightly.

Dan resisted the urge to walk away. "Blair," he sighed.

"It's not what it could look like," Blair said, glancing back at her open door. "We're not-"

"Blair," he said, holding her shoulders, "it's fine. Whatever makes you happy. We're friends."

Blair pushed his hands away, "Don't do that."

"Do what?" he challenged, raising her eyebrows.

"This. The way you say it. As though you can already see the outcome of it. As though you pity me."

"I don't pity you, Blair. I just question sometimes the things you choose to do to yourself."

"It's different," she said, crossing her arms. "There are no strings attached. It's just fun. There's history."

"Blair," he said firmly. "I'm happy for you. What do you want me to say?"

"The truth. I don't need you to be happy for me, Dan. If we're friends, tell me the truth. Don't sugarcoat it with patronizing sayings that you think I want to hear."

"The truth is I think that if you get back with Nate you are doing yourself a disservice and wasting your time," Dan said, his voice quiet. "When I met you, you were both hurting each other for sport."

Blair let out a harsh laugh, "Well, then."

Dan stared at her for a second before speaking, "Again, if you are happy then I am happy."

"I am happy," she said, standing a bit taller. "Nate and I have worked things out over the last year in being friends."

"Good," Dan said, stepping backwards, away from her.

"Good," she repeated.

* * *

"This is why I didn't want to sleep in that room," Serena yelled over the music as she pointed to a corner of the club where Nate and Blair were currently making out. "So, thank you for saving me."

Dan glanced over quickly and then back to Serena, "How long?"

Serena shrugged, moving her head side to side. "Who knows? Forever. They are always going to be like this. Don't be upset, Dan," she said, looping her arm around his neck and making him move to the song with her.

Dan half heartedly did a bit of a two step before looking over again, "Why would I be upset?"

"She did really like you," Serena said, her lips pressed against Dan's cheek as she talked. "She was kind of a mess after everything happened with you. I don't think anyone has ever broken up with Blair Waldorf. Probably because she's also only dated you and Nate."

Serena let him go, bouncing to the music in a small circle. There were plenty of guys trying to dance with her, some even going so far as putting their hands on her waist and trying to pull her to them. She very easily pushed them away and continued to dance in her own little world.

"Do you think they'll last?"

Serena raised her eyebrows, "Do they ever?" She stopped dancing for a second, holding his hand, "You are asking a lot of questions and raising a lot of concerns who kept insisting last night that you are just friends."

"I still care about her."

"Mmmhmm," she said, pulling Dan through the crowd and to the bar where it was slightly quieter. "Dan, if you want to be her friend then be her friend. You're the one who broke up with her," she said, pressing her finger into his chest. "You're the one who told her that there was something you couldn't get over. Don't be surprised that she moved on."

"But to him? Again?"

"There is a certain comfort in knowing what kind of hurt to expect," Serena said, fanning herself. "I'm hot. Are you hot?"

"I think that's what happens when you dance continuously for two hours," Dan mumbled, ordering both of them waters from the bartender.

Serena quickly drank hers, putting the bottle back on the bar. She pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and rested her elbow on the bar top, "You're a good friend for her to have. Don't ruin it because you can't over the fact she takes him back."

"Why would you think I would ruin it?"

"Because jealous boys have a tendency to do just that," Serena said, winking at him before shimmying her way past the crowd and back to the middle of the dance floor.


	37. Chapter 37

Dan opened the door for Serena, who was still moving as though she could hear the music from the club. Her head was bopping as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind pulled her hair up and turned around, "Unzip me?"

He reached out, tugging at the zipper of her sparkly dress and then turning around so she could undress and get into her pajamas. "Do you know what you guys are doing tomorrow?"

"No idea. Blair and Nate will probably spend the day having boring sex," she said. Dan could hear the sound of her dress dropping to the ground and her fumbling around her back for her other clothes. "You know you don't have to turn around, Dan," she sung out. "We've been there, done that."

Dan stayed where he was, his eyes firmly focused on the blank wall in front of him. "How is Copenhagen?"

"Amazing," she sighed. "I'm dressed, you can turn without losing your honor."

Slowly, he turned back around and faced Serena who was in a crop top hoodie and matching shorts. "Do you always plan your outfit to sleep in?"

"Only when sharing a room with cute boys," Serena winked, flipping her hair. "Oh cute," she said, clapping. "You have a sink in your room? You don't even need to leave to brush your teeth."

Dan nodded before opening up his wardrobe to find something to sleep in. "How do you guys do it?" he asked, pulling out a t-shirt and throwing his shirt into his laundry basket.

"Do what?" she asked, her mouth full of toothpaste.

Dan flailed his hands around him, "This. Date each other, break up with each other, be friends. Repeat. Since the two years I've met you all, I've seen Blair be with Nate and then Nate be with you and then back to Blair? And then back to you? And now you all are visiting each other in different countries and Blair and Nate are doing… whatever."

He watched as she dainty spit out her toothpaste. "We're young, the wounds that we leave are more like paper cuts and we choose to forget that we ever hurt each other," she answered. "I don't really have a good answer for you, Dan. We grew up together, we know each other too well and are too intertwined to ever be out of each other's lives for good- so we accept that what we do is fucked up and move on." Serena moved to the air mattress and settled on it, resting her head on the pillow. "I'm not tired yet," she complained. "Tell me what you've been up to since that dreaded New Years Party."

"A whole lot of nothing," he replied, moving to the sink to brush his own teeth. "Studying, mostly. Avoiding all the UES hot spots, which is easy to do when you recognize Brooklyn as the superior place to be in New York."

Serena watched him as he crossed the room to his bed, "Have you been working out? You look good."

"Serena," he said, his tone soft but firm.

"Can't blame a girl for trying to hit on you," she laughed. "I thought you might go for it, given that Nate is in Blair's room. I guess you're not as self destructive as I judged, which makes you a better person than I am."

"What did happen with you and Nate? You two were dating the last time I saw you." Dan turned on his side to look at her.

Serena closed her eyes, "What always happens. Nate thought he wanted me, we started to date and then he realized he just likes the chase. It's why Blair is so good at getting him. She knows how to be chased. She plays the game. I just want someone to say that they like me, let's be together. Why does it have to be so complicated?" Serena yawned, "I think your rejection has made me tired."

Dan flipped off the light on near his bed and shrouded them in darkness. "Goodnight, Serena."

"Goodnight, Dan."

* * *

"So," Blair said as her and Dan ran into each other on the way to the bathrooms the next morning. "You and Serena have fun last night?" her eyebrows wiggled at him.

"I'm not doing this," Dan replied.

"Doing what, Humphrey?"

"This," he said, motioning between them. "Swapping stories like we are that kind of friends."

"So there is a story," she said, clapping her hands together. "When Nate said he was inviting Serena, I got worried about who was going to entertain her. And look how perfect it worked out!"

Dan began to shake his head, but was interrupted by a bathroom door swinging open and Nate walking out. Nate was freshly showered, a towel wrapped around his pelvis and suddenly Dan didn't seem like he wanted to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"It worked out perfectly," he nodded, catching the door before it closed and stepping into the room with a shower. If he was a gentleman, he would have let Blair go first but he was already picturing Blair and Nate and their late night activities and he needed to wash away that vision and quickly.

Once showered, he made his way back to his room where Serena was lounging on his bed, still in the clothes she slept in.

"Blair thinks we had sex," he said curtly.

Serena sat up, "Why does she think that?"

"She took something I said out of context and I decided not to correct her." He ran a hand over his chest, "I don't know, it was dumb. I'll correct it the next time I see her."

"Don't," Serena instructed. "Let her think whatever she wants."

Dan shook his head, droplets of water flying across the room from his wet hair. "I don't think that's a good idea, Serena. We're trying this whole honesty thing to be friends-"

Serena put her hand up, "Did you tell her we had sex? Did you say the words 'Serena and I fucked last night'?"

"No, but-"

"Then you aren't lying. Blair is the master at hidden truths and only saying what she wants you to know. We can play that game too, Dan." Serena bounced up, looking around the room, "Do you have a spare towel?"

He pointed to his wardrobe, "I really don't think this is a good idea."

Serena walked over to him, her finger tracing his arm and leaned in and kissed him. Her teeth grazed his lower lip as he opened his mouth slightly in response. She pulled away and winked, "See, now it's not a lie. We can say we made out and it is technically true." She stepped back, pulling her shirt over her head before Dan could turn away and pulled the towel around her. "And you've seen my boobs, so check that off the list, too."

"Why do you want Blair to think we hooked up?"

"I don't care if Blair thinks it," Serena replied as she walked to the door.

Dan pressed his hands against his face, rubbing his eyes, "Jesus Christ, this is about Nate fucking Archibald again, isn't it?"

He could hear Serena's laugh as she made her way to the bathroom. Dan sunk down on his bed, shaking his head in disbelief. How, after more than six months, had he found himself in almost the same position again- a girl using him for Nate? At least, he told himself, it was only the weekend.

* * *

"My man," Nate said, swinging his arm around Dan as Dan entered the kitchen where a party was just starting. "We were thinking you were going to bail on us, one night was too much of a good time."

The rest of the day had been uneventful, Blair had taken Nate and Serena into town to show them around and Dan had declined stating that he was working on a paper. While Blair tried to beg him, nodding not so subtly at Serena, he put his headphones in and typed random words into a word document until she went away.

Dan had used his Blair-free day to read a book while it was still warm enough to sit outside. Blair had texted him to state the plans for the night had changed, that they were going to stay in (until they decided to go out) and party in the kitchen. She had gathered up anyone who wanted to and Dan was expected to be there as soon as she said to be. So when he was texted (more like summoned) at 8 on the dot, he stayed in his room and watched an extra episode or three of a tv show he was into.

"Dan," Serena squealed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "Nate thought I tired you out last night and that you were bailing. I said, no way. Not my Dan."

"Your Dan?" Blair asked, a glass in her hand filled with what looked to be red wine.

Serena pressed her forehead onto his shoulder, "At least for the weekend. It was so great seeing you last night, it would have been a shame if you didn't join us tonight, too."

Dan patted her back, trying to find a way that this situation wasn't a complete fallacy. He knew in order for his friendship with Blair to work, they both had to be honest. Although, when he thought more on it, she hadn't told him about Nate. "How did you like Brighton?"

Nate chimed in, his eyes locked on Dan's hand on Serena's back, "It was great. Blair was a great tour guide." He wrapped his arm around Blair's waist and pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head.

Blair beamed, "I showed them the lanes and the Pavilion. You should see the pictures Serena and I got."

"I've gotten so many likes on them, B. Dan, we need a picture," Serena said, handing her phone off to Blair. "Get one of me and the boys." Serena moved so she was in the middle of Dan and Nate and Dan thinly smiled for the photo, watching as Blair's face barely managed to keep a smile on it while she played photographer. Serena wanted pictures of her and Dan and Nate in as many poses as possible, looking at the picture and then handing the phone back to Blair for another one, claiming they could do better.

"I'm done," Blair said, a tight smile on her face as she handed the phone back. "I need another drink. Humphrey, do you need one?"

"Sure," he said, excusing himself from Nate and Serena who were flipping through the pictures.

Blair brought them to her secret stash of expensive red wine that she tried to hide from the rest of the students. What Blair didn't know was that everyone had tried the wine and determined it was disgusting. If Blair heard about that, Dan was certain she would state it was because they didn't know what good wine was. She poured each of them a glass as she glared at Nate and Serena.

Dan watched her watch them, "Something wrong, Blair?"

"I'm never going to get out of a triangle, am I? Nate and Serena. You and Serena. Nate and Serena."

"Me and Serena?"

'Yes," she said, taking a sip of her wine. "Remember that funny moment when you were so desperately in love with me that you dated Serena?"

Dan scoffed, "I don't think I would classify what Serena and I did as dating… or that I was desperately in love with you."

"Oh, but you were, Humphrey," she said, turning her head to look at him and batted her eyelashes at him. "I remember it so clearly, the way you would look at me even when I was with Nate. How you saved me from that humiliating Halloween and you were there when Nate went on his sailing adventure. Did you block out everything from dating me? Was I that horrible?"

Dan noticed for the first time that night the slight slur in her words. "Blair, are you drunk?"

"We might have had a couple of glasses prior to coming here. I may have consumed a bottle to myself. Nothing more than I could handle. But you left me with the two of them all day. It was painful."

"Aren't you and Nate?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, but you add in Serena and it all gets messy." She took another sip from her glass. "And honestly, Nate is boring."

"What?" he was surprised.

Blair moved her hand as though it was talking, "Sailing, weed, more sailing, it's so much of the same."

"Blair, what are you saying?"

"I told you," she said, pressing her finger into his chest, "I was homesick. I reached out to Nate, we've flirted online a bit and he decided he wanted to come visit. Get the gang back together. I thought maybe there would still be a spark, and there is- physically. I mean, look at him," she said, using her hand to move Dan's head so he was looking at Nate and Serena who were ignoring everyone else in the room. "He's a true specimen. But spending actual hours with him? Yawn."

Dan moved his head so she wasn't touching it anymore. "Blair, I think maybe you have had too much wine."

"Do you still love me, Humphrey?" she asked, her voice low.

"Blair," he breathed out, turning to her. "I don't think this is the right time, if there is one, to have that kind of discussion."

Blair nodded, standing up straight. "So it's a no, got it." She pretended to check the air before losing her balance a little and bumping against Dan. "I'm going to go to bed. Add this to the long list of regrets I run through before sleeping."

"Do you need me to walk you there?"

"To my room?" Blair laughed. "Humphrey, it's right there."

"I know, but you're-"

"Can you tell them my room will be open? And to keep it down? I don't have my earplugs with me."

Dan let her leave before approaching Nate and Serena and then excusing himself to his room. He was in no mood to drink. It was around midnight when he heard the door open quietly. He turned on the light to see Serena creeping into the room. "Serena?"

"Sorry, was I loud?"

"I thought you and Nate were going to sleep in Blair's room?"

Serena huffed, "You think we're going to go hook up in Blair's room that she's sleeping in? Come on, we're messy but that's another level. Nate's on her floor and I thought you wouldn't mind if I just stayed on the air mattress again? If you do, I can go find a spot on Blair's floor."

Dan motioned to the air mattress that was still unraveled on his floor. "Suit yourself."

"Thanks," she said, not bothering to change out of her shirt but just slipped the jeans she had been wearing off as she climbed under the sheets of the air mattress. "Dan?"

His hand hesitated over turning off the light, "Yes?"

"Do you think Blair hates me?"

Dan turned off the light, "No, but I think you all need to figure out how to stop giving each other thousands of paper cuts and grow up a bit."

"Harsh," she replied, the sound of her moving around on the air mattress filling the silence between them. "Harsh but fair."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this four years after the last chapter so it might be a little rusty, but wanted to revisit this


	38. Chapter 38

It was now the middle of October and besides glimpses of Blair's hair as she closed her door to her room, Dan had not seen her since Nate and Serena's visit. He had more communication with Serena, who made him into a sort of pen pal, than he did with his ex-girlfriend who lived a few doors down in their dorm. He had attempted to reach out to her the first week that she iced him out, thinking she was perhaps falling back into her homesickness and isolating but he saw her in the library surrounded by other students and realized that the lack of communication was on purpose.

He had to admit, it stung.

"Who cares that she is not talking to you?" Vanessa asked, staring blankly into the screen on one of their video chats. "You broke up and didn't talk to her for over six months, you were fine."

Dan had let out a sigh and told Vanessa that she just didn't get it, but truly it was him that didn't get it. She had had a point- they had not been friends again for very long, so it shouldn't have hurt him as much as it did when she dropped back out of his life. Maybe it was the way that she entered it again like a tornado, blowing through the tenuous friendships he had built the first couple of weeks and leaving him with nothing.

Thankfully Amanda still saw him as some prize to win in the power struggle between her and Blair and took him back into her group of friends from Elon. They had expanded a little bit, grabbing a few of the German foreign students, a girl from Italy and a couple of students from Spain but mostly stay insulated. Dan was on the outer limits of their friendship, and was certain if it wasn't for Amanda that the rest of the group would gladly forget his existence and not tell him when they were going out.

He had made plans with Amelie, one of the few friends he had made outside of Amanda's group to get lunch at the cafeteria. She was German and looking for his help to proof read a paper that she had to turn in. A second set of eyes, she said, as she begged him the night before to just read through it quickly- a cursory glance to make sure she hadn't messed up on any of the phrasing. He had said yes and they had made plans to meet for lunch but he had been waiting outside for 15 minutes for her and had not yet seen her blonde head walk by.

Dan sent her a text as he walked into the cafeteria, his stomach grumbling, and went to find something that looked edible to eat. For the most part, he tried to go get groceries and cook meals for himself but the food at the school wasn't the worst he had. He glanced around the cafeteria, scanning for Amelie, before looking at the food options and paying.

He went to find a table, when he spotted Blair. She was sitting in the middle of a group who seem entranced by her (he knew the feeling well) as she talked. Dan watched as she tilted her head back and laughed at something she said or maybe a reply that someone had said to her. He hadn't realized he had stopped moving until someone brushed by him, shoving their shoulder into his and mumbling a rude comment about his manners.

Dan's phone buzzed.

Amelie had texted: Daniel, my friend. Please do not kill me. I got caught up on the phone with my parents. You know they worry. Will be there in five.

Dan wrote back that he was finding a table and to not rush, his classes were done for the day anyways. Dan found a table that was empty and as an added bonus had a view to Blair's table. She looked to be in good spirits, but he was still bothered that she had ghosted him after that night- especially when he had done nothing wrong.

He left his food on the table, shrugging off his jacket and putting it on the back of the chair and took a deep breath and walked over to Blair's table. She was ignoring him in all the ways she could but he couldn't imagine her WASP manners would let her ignore him in front of her new friends.

"Waldorf," he said, interrupting her as she was talking to the group around her. "You've been avoiding me."

Blair's eyes flashed over to him and he could see her jaw tense as she put on a tight smile to greet him. "Humphrey." It was funny that she could put so much into one word. He could hear how much she didn't want to see him, how she didn't want to have this conversation in her tone and while the Dan she met freshman year of college would have cowered away, he stayed standing at the edge of the circular table.

"You've been avoiding me," he repeated, his hands resting on the top of an empty chair. "Here I was thinking we were becoming friends again."

"You thought wrong," Blair said, tilting her head to the side and smiling up at him. "We're in the middle of something right now, Humphrey. It's rude to interrupt."

Dan's hands tightened on the chair, "All I am looking for is an explanation of why one day we were friends and the next you stopped talking to me. I think I'm at least owed that."

Blair let out a heavy sigh, "Fine, Humphrey. Come to my room at 6 pm sharp and we can discuss. You're inconveniencing me now."

He nodded, letting her harsh words bounce off of him as he retreated back to his table. He had an internal debate with himself as he waited for Amelie. There was Option A, which was to just go to Blair's room when she told him to. Option A meant that he would potentially get answers on why she was showing him her worst self again but it also kept the power solely in her hands.

Option B, which he knew was self destructive and therefore what he shouldn't do even if he wanted to, was to not show up when she demanded. He wasn't sure why he wanted to be Blair's friend again, they hadn't done much besides delay their start of their relationship the last time they had tried to be friends, but Dan would be lying if he said the pull of her orbit wasn't always tugging at him.

"Oh, Daniel," he heard Amelie's voice as she huffed and fell into her chair. "I am so sorry. My sister is having some boy problems at home and she was crying, I didn't want to leave her on the phone."

He smiled at the blonde who looked apologetic as she pulled out her paper from her bag. "It's okay, Amelie. How is she doing?"

"You're so kind for asking," she smiled, touching his hand. "She was okay when we hung up. She might come visit. You should have your Jenny come too. I think they would get along."

"It's a little trickier to get my sister here, I think. Tickets are expensive."

Her face felt and she snapped her fingers, "Darn. I can just imagine her and Sabrina getting along splendidly. I'm so sorry for making you read through this, I don't trust myself to not make a silly mistake."

"From what I read on your last essay, your English is way better than some of my classmates back at home- and we're all English majors. I'm sure you are fine," he said, smiling to reassure her. "Do you want me to take this back to my room and read through it?"

"Oh," she clapped, "would you? That's so kind."

Dan nodded, putting the paper in his bag. "I can do some proofing for you. Are you eating?"

Amelie shook her head, "I'm not hungry yet. I have plans to get an early dinner in town with some of my friends. Do you want to come?"

"I can't," he said. He paused to take a bite of his sandwich, chewy as softly as he could. "I just ran into Blair, she's granted me a meeting."

"Your ex girlfriend?" her eyes twinkled.

Dan nodded, "She's sitting over there."

Amelie pushed her hands on the table and flung up, trying to see who it was that Dan had previously dated. Dan had shown her a picture previously and Amelie looked around the busy cafeteria for a minute before finally spotting the brunette. "Wow, Daniel, she's so pretty," she nodded as she sunk back into her chair. "She was beautiful in the picture but she looks so beautiful in motion. You two must have looked nice together."

His shoulders moved up lazily, "I think a lot of people said she was out of my league."

Amelie playfully hit his thigh with her hand, "Nonsense, Daniel. You are the most self doubting American I've ever met. Aren't all of you supposed to boast about your good looks and money?"

"You've befriended the wrong American if that was what you were hoping for."

Amelie bit her lower lip. She tapped her fingers on the table, "Come to dinner anyways. Just come late. What time are you meeting with her?"

"Six?"

Amelie laughed, a loud boisterous laugh that made people in the cafeteria look over at them. "We're going much later than that. Haven't you gotten used to European eating times yet?"

Dan shook his head still, "I have an early class tomorrow. I should stick around campus."

"Come on, Daniel," Amelie rolled her eyes. "You are only studying in a different country once. Live a little."

"You sound like my friend, Vanessa."

"Then she sounds wise."

* * *

Dan knocked lightly on the door to Blair's room. He had decided on Option A, showing up on time and had even gone down to the store and brought with him a peace gift of cheap red wine. It wasn't anything that Blair would have chosen to drink on her own, but Dan didn't have the endless pockets of the Manhattan elite.

Blair flung open the door, she was wearing a different outfit that she had been wearing at lunch. At lunch she had been wearing a sweater over what he thought was a dress with a collar. Now she was dressed casually in tight jeans and a black long sleeve t-shirt. It was the most casual he had ever seen her and also guaranteed that it was more expensive than his entire wardrobe.

"Humphrey." She sounded annoyed, as though she hadn't expected him to show up. He stepped into her room, looking around at a place to sit. There were papers on her desk, he assumed she was doing some kind of homework before he had knocked. "You can sit at the desk," she said, half heartedly pointing to the chair as she sat on her bed. Dan had taken the standard issue duvet that the school had sold to exchange students. Blair had outfitted her bed with a white duvet that looked like he would find it in a plush hotel bed.

"I don't want to take up a lot of your time, Blair," he said. He sat and awkwardly put the bottle of wine on the desk, trying to find a free space for it.

Blair nodded, "Good, Humphrey. I don't have much time for you to waste."

Dan closed his eyes and let out a hard exhale. "Actually," he said, opening them again, "can we cut the bullshit? You've been ignoring me since Serena and Nate's visit. I don't remember doing anything that would cause that and I thought we were getting good again. I thought we were friends."

"I've told you before, Dan," Blair said sharply, "I can't be your friend."

"In the middle of a break up."

"It still stands."

"Why can you be Nate's friend but not mine?"

"You're from Brooklyn-"

Dan interrupted her, "I know I'm from Brooklyn, Blair. We've done this before. We've gone through this. Because I'm from Brooklyn you can't be my friend?"

"If you let me finish," she said, her tone still sharp, "I would have said it's not the same. Nate will always be in my life. Our parents are friends, our lives are intertwined. Being your friend means work. Nate just lazily exists and he's in my life. I have no interest in working to be your friend."

"But you did earlier, when you organized us to go on a day trip with Dakota."

"I told you, I was homesick."

"And you are cured?"

"Yes."

"And I don't get a say into us being friends?"

"They say friendship is a two way street, Humphrey, and I don't want to be part of it. So no, you don't get a say in it."

Dan could feel his frustrations boiling over. He wanted to reach out and shake her, try and get her to talk any sense into this situation. Instead he felt himself rise, his hands shaking besides him. "Alright, then I'm going to go."

"I don't know what you wanted by coming here," Blair responded, not getting up from where she sat.

"I wanted you to tell me what I did that is making you act like this," he said, walking to the door. "I don't get what I did."

It had always been like that with them, she held all the power. Even now, even here thousands of miles away from their lives in New York, she had gotten him to the point where he was willing to beg to be in her life again. While he was having fun with the people he met here, he had more fun when Blair was in his life here. The brief time that they had reconnected and hung out with a group of people, he had felt his cheeks become sore with how much he smiled in her presence. It was corny, he knew and therefore would never voice it, but she made him happier and better and more complete. Even though they couldn't be in a relationship, he wanted to have a relationship with her. He would do anything to fix it.

His hand was on the doorknob as he heard her speak.

"Why do you think you did anything, Humphrey?"

Dan turned on his heel to look at her, his fingers still on the handle. "What?"

Blair slowly turned her head to look up at him, her doe eyes wide and she looked as though the ice around her had melted. "Why," she repeated, enunciating the words, "do you think you did anything?" Dan let the handle go, taking a step back into the room and looking at her. She wouldn't meet his eyes as she pulled a pillow into her lap. "Why do you think it was anything you did, Dan?"


	39. Chapter 39

“You've been avoiding me,” he responded, stepping towards her. “I figured it had to be something I did.”

Blair shook her head, her eyes falling to the ground. “I was embarrassed, Dan. And I’m embarrassed to even be admitting that. I drank a little too much when Serena and Nate were here and I said things to you…” she trailed off. 

Dan sat next to her on the bed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling him to her. “Hey,’ he said, his voice quiet. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” 

Dan had spent the last few weeks wondering what he had done that made Blair upset. He should have realized with her avoidance tactic that it was the opposite. After all, she had not hesitated to say how much he embarrassed her when the video from the party went up. Or when he avoided breaking up with her, she showed up at the loft. 

“There is a lot to be embarrassed about,” she responded, standing up and walking to her desk. She lifted up the bottle of red, “You brought me a present, Humphrey?” 

Dan nodded, standing and stretching. “A peace offering, really.”

Blair shuffled things around her desk before finding her corkscrew. She made quick work of the quirk and took a sip out of the bottle. Her face scrunched up. “God, what is this?”

“Cheap, red wine. A college staple.”

“If we’re going to do college staples, get me some cheap vodka next time. At least I can pour something in it and mask it.” She handed him the bottle. “Are you having fun here?”

He took the bottle and lifted it to his lips, dropping it down slightly before taking a sip to look at her. “Sure,” he said, giving her a noncommittal shrug. “Are you?”

Blair pushed out her bottom lip, thinking, “I think I should have chosen Paris. The wine and the cheese and the sights.”

“Why,” he asked, taking another sip of the wine (she was right, it was awful) and handing it back to her, “did you choose it here?” She took a long sip of it, and he watched her body shiver in response to the cheap alcohol. “Come on, Blair, it’s not that bad.”

“It’s bad, Humphrey,” she said, tightly closing her eyes as she took another sip. “I don’t know why I chose it here. Paris seemed too close to my dad. I could picture him visiting and I didn’t want that. I think I underestimated how much New York is a part of me.”

“It’s not as great as I thought it would be,” he said, reaching out for the bottle but Blair moved out of reach playfully. “Not a lot of things are.”

Blair swung the bottle at her side, “Do you think we’ll ever be alright, Humphrey?”

Dan reached out again for the bottle, letting out a frustrated laugh as she twirled away from him and leaned against her wall. “Depends on your definition of alright, Blair. I thought we had been alright.”

She lifted the bottle took a long drink from it and let her arm dangle out in front of her, the bottle precariously being held between her thumb and index finger. “I wasn’t alright.”

Dan reached out for the bottle and took a gulp. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and saw Amelie had texted him. She and her friends were meeting at the bus stop shortly and she was looking to confirm his attendance. Dan shoved the phone back in his pocket without responding. He looked back at Blair, who’s eyes were on the phone.

“One of the terrible Elon girls?”

“No, she’s German.”

“Ah, a German,” Blair said, pushing herself off of the wall and sitting back on her bed. “Do you have to go?”

“We’re in the middle of a conversation, they can have dinner without me.”

“Dinner plans? Since when did you become social? Back when I knew you it was Vanessa and all your nerd friends from class. They were all so boring. You can go, Humphrey.”

Dan felt dismissed, saw Blair going back into her shell that she didn’t let him penetrate without tremendous effort on his part. He knew if he walked out of the room, she wouldn’t give this chance again. “Do you want to come?”

Blair looked up at him, “I’m not going to interrupt your dinner plans.”

“It’s a group of people. I only know Amelie, she’ll be distracted.”

“So I’d basically be doing charity work by tagging along?” Blair smiled, standing up and nodding. “Fine. I will accompany you to dinner.”

* * *

“Alright, Blair,” Amelie said, looking mischievous. “Tell me, what was it like dating Daniel? I was telling him earlier that you two must have made a great looking couple.”

Dan groaned, sliding down into his seat. The three of them were seated at the end of the table and Amelie’s other friends were talking to each other in German, making Dan very glad that he had Blair there. Amelie, though, was focusing most of her attention on the two of them and apologizing for her friends.

Blair laughed, taking a sip of her wine. Dan wasn’t sure if Blair felt it, but having chugged the entire bottle of cheap wine before coming, he was feeling a little bit more tipsy than he had intended. “Really? You think both sides of the couple would have been attractive? I think I raise his stock by quite a bit. He has that dirty, Brooklyn thing going on. ”

“Dirty?” Dan interrupted, taking a piece of bread from the table and starting to tear it up. “I’m not dirty.”

“No, but you can look it,” Blair countered. “Do you know what I’m saying, Amelie?”

“Like a hipster?”

“Exactly,” Blair said, using her fork to point at the blonde. “And who is the last person you’ve dated? You’re so pretty, he must have been a model.”

“She was a model,” Amelie smiled and took her phone out, turning it around to show her background. “We’re still together but she’s in the States currently. I’m going for Christmas. Unfortunately, it will be to Los Angeles otherwise I would make Daniel show me around New York.”

Blair squealed, “You two are stunning. Do you model as well? My mom is a fashion designer, you should send me some of her head shots. She’s always looking for a new face of her line.”

Amelie smiled, “I’ll text Daniel all the information.”

“I didn’t realize you were seeing someone,” Dan said, trying to stay involved in the conversation. 

Amelie shrugged, “You didn’t ask. And you’ve been preoccupied with why Blair is so mad at you. I take it you two have worked it out?”

“Did you not ask because you didn’t want to know, Humphrey? Hoping for an abroad romance” Blair teased.

Dan felt Blair’s hand tap him on the leg and he turned his neck to see her wickedly grinning. He rolled his eyes at her before turning back to Amelie. “I talked to my dad, by the way, and he said that Jenny might be able to come for Thanksgiving weekend, if your sister wants to come. My friend Vanessa said she would fly in if Jenny was here.”

He could see Blair make a face at the mention of Vanessa. Some things never changed. 

“I’m being summoned to my father’s house for the holiday,” Blair offered. “If you guys want to travel to France, I’m sure he could make room for most people.”

“I’m assuming most people is not including Vanessa?”

“You have to limit the guest list somewhere,” she said, sipping her wine. She put her glass back and sat down, “Am I turning into a light weight or is this wine strong?”

Amelie looked confused, “It seems like normal wine to me?”

“I think it might have been the bottle we drank back in the room, Blair,” he said, laughing as he reached around her and rested his arm on the back of the chair. He watched her as she animatedly told Amelie about their trip to France. She was leaning forward, her face glowing in the light of the candle of the table. He sat back, his eyes resting on her face as she broke out into laughter at the memory of Nate dragging Dan back from the bar. 

Amelie’s face turned to look at Dan and then she smirked and gave him the quickest of winks. 

He was going to blame this on the wine if it backfired. The boldness that he was feeling of wanting to be closer to Blair. He had almost forgotten how magnetizing she was, how she could command attention- especially his attention. 

Dan’s fingers lightly brushed the top of Blair’s shoulder and Blair’s shoulder moved up in reaction to the touch. Blair turned to him, her head leaning sideways as she said, “You okay, Humphrey?”

“I might have also been hit by the wine,” he said. 

He could see Amelie’s eyebrows raise in the corner of his eye and she turned to talk to her other friends. Blair cocked her head to the other side now, reaching over and taking his chin in her hand as though she was examining him. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m alright,” he assured her and she dropped her hand. “Blair, it’s not fair how gorgeous you are. 

“Now I know you are drunk,” Blair said shrugging his hand off her chair. “Did you fill me up with cheap red wine and then bring me to dinner to try and seduce me, Humphrey? It’s not going to work.” 

* * *

“What did you say about this not working?” Dan teased, running his lips down her neck as he tugged her shirt out of her jeans. “At dinner,” he continued, lifting away from her to remove her shirt.

Blair pursed her lips, “It’s not nice to gloat, Humphrey.”


	40. Chapter 40

Every time Dan looked at Blair, he was uncertain whatever made him think that he was strong enough to stay away from her. He chewed on the tip of his pen as he watched her brush a piece of hair away from her face and behind her ear. He was in the library to write an essay about a book he had been assigned to read but instead was inspired more to write something about Blair- maybe he could find his calling as a poet.

"You're staring, Humphrey," Blair said, turning her head slowly to look at him. "I won't study with you if you continue to stare."

Dan huffed as he trained his eyes back to his computer screen. He was now staring at a blank screen, trying to find any words that would properly describe a book that he had despised. "Blair," he said, trying to whisper not to evoke the library's scorn.

"Humphrey," she said, dropping her pen that she had been taking notes with on to the table. "Can it wait?"

"About the other night-"

Blair put her hand up, "No, we're not going there." Dan pouted. "Humphrey, we both agreed that it was a one time, get it out of our systems thing. We have to move on. We did it, we're done. We can move on to this stage of friendship."

"Fine," Dan said, turning back to his computer screen. "But can we talk about it?"

* * *

Dan's hand pressed on Blair's lower back as she climbed the stairs of the bus to the upper deck. She insisted on riding in the front seat on the way back to dinner. She said if she was going to be using public transit, she wanted the best view. "Can you imagine what everyone back home would say?"

"About what?" Dan said, as he sat down next to her in the seat. "You being with a Brooklyn guy across the pond?"

"Who cares about that?" she laughed. Blair tilted her head against the window, "Me being on a bus."

"Oh," Dan said, exaggerating a shiver, "the horrors."

"Humphrey," she said, hitting his chest with the back of her hand. "It's not nice to poke fun at me."

Dan caught her hand before she took it back and interlocked their fingers, holding it close to his chest for a second. "But you make it so easy." Blair smirked. "Did you have a good time? I was glad to have you there. It was nice to have someone who wasn't speaking a language I can't understand."

She nodded, "Amelie seems nice. Are you sad that she has a girlfriend?"

"Why would I be sad? I root for all of my friends to be happy."

"And you have so many friends to root for," Blair said, pausing for a second before laughing at her own joke. Dan frowned and Blair reached over to pinch his cheek, "Come on, you can give it but you can't take it, Humphrey?"

"I can take it," Dan clarified, "but that seemed like a low blow."

"Some people are born to be social and some people are you," she said, one shoulder raising as she jabbed her finger into his chest.

Dan nodded slowly, "Maybe, some people would have more friends if they weren't preoccupied with a girl from the Upper East Side. Let me tell you," he said, clapping his hands together. "Ever since this ended? I have people lining up around blocks to be my friend. My social life has been booming."

"Oh yeah," she challenged, "tell me about all your friends."

* * *

Blair didn't look up from her computer as she responded, "There is really nothing to talk about. You seduced me with cheap red wine, which was a good way to remember that I have standards when it comes to wine and men."

Dan scoffed. "And men? What do you mean by that, Blair?"

"I just remembered you being better in my head," Blair said, looking up and giving him the sweetest smile. "Maybe you are out of practice?"

Dan squinted at her, "Out of practice?"

"I don't know," Blair shrugged, as she tapped her finger against her cheek. "Or maybe I was just in a rebellious phase at the time and let you get away with mediocrity."

He clenched his teeth down, trying hard to not respond. He felt his fingers move rhythmically on the keyboard as he tried to form sentences about the book. All he could do, however, was write the word 'fuck'/ over and over again. He looked back up at her, "Are you joking, Blair?"

"Humphrey," she said, dramatically rolling her eyes as she closed her notebook. "Why would I joke about something so serious? I'm sure you will find a girl out there patient enough to help you improve." She leaned over, her shoulder grazing his, to look at his screen. "Oh my God, you have wasted two hours of my time. What is that?" she asked, tapping his screen with her fingertip. "You have not written any of your essay. What does that say? Did you just write the word 'fuck' over and over again?"

Dan swatted her hand away and closed his lap top. "I already wrote my essay," Dan lied. "It's saved. I've just been waiting for you to finish whatever you were working on."

"Well, that was stupid," she said, putting her notebook into her bag and standing up. "I've been waiting for you for the last hour. And now that we are both done, I will allow you to walk me back to the dorm."

He hesitated, looking at his computer and knowing that if he left now, he would be in for an all nighter to finish the essay he just told her he wrote. "You know what, Blair, why don't you go back? I have something else I just forgot that I should do." He reopened his essay, deleting all of the curse words on the word document.

To his surprise, Blair sat back down.

"What are you doing?"

"Reading," she answered, taking Breakfast at Tiffany's out of her bag and leaning back in her chair. "Carry on."

* * *

Blair's head moved from the window to his shoulder some time during the trip back to their dorm. His arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him as they watched out of the big window the city of Brighton disappear as their school came back into view.

"You smell nice," she said, burying her had into his chest. "You're not allowed to smell nice, you're supposed to smell like Brooklyn."

"One of these days," Dan said, mindlessly stroking her hair, "you'll stop making these Brookyin generalizations."

"Never."

The bus was close to their stop and Dan reached over Blair to ring the bell. As the bus stop, Dan stood and offered Blair his hand. She pulled herself up, stumbling slightly as she stood. He walked down the stairs carefully, turning at the bottom to take her hand again. The air was chilly as they stepped off the bus and Dan slipped off his jacket to put it around her shoulders.

"Humphrey?" Blair asked, her voice low. They walked close together back to the dorm, their sides brushing with every step.

"Mmm," he answered, hyper aware of how his knuckles were touching hers.

"Do you think there is still wine left?"

"I'm pretty sure we finished that bottle, but," he pulled out his phone, "it's still pretty early. Do you want to get another bottle?"

Blair shook her head even as she said the words, "Yes."

"Is that a no or a yes? You're giving off mixed signals."

"Yes," she said, her voice rising in volume. "Actually, no."

Dan nodded, "Okay."

They finished the rest of the walk to their dorm in silence, Dan silently cursing himself out in his head as he replayed asking her to clear up the answer. He should have just taken the initial verbal yes as a cue to walk them both to the liquor store on campus to get a bottle of wine (he would have let her choose any bottle) so they could continue the night.

Blair tapped her card against the reader, "Well, Humphrey. This was a pleasant night." She shimmied her shoulders, letting his coat slip off her arms. "Thank you for this," she said, handing it back.

He took her hand as she placed the coat in his arms and leaned in to her. It was awkward, the jacket in between them, but he tried to maneuver around it. He ran his thumb against the back of her hand as he lifted his other arm to run his fingers through her hair. "Blair," he said, his lips dangerously close to her mouth.

"Humphrey, we shouldn't," she said, but he felt her step forward and into him. "It's the red wine." She leaned into him and onto her toes as she pushed herself up to meet his mouth. This kiss was quick before she pulled back and looked around the area that could constitute as a lobby in the dorm. "Do you want to-"

"Yes."

"I didn't even finish, Humphrey," she said, pulling her hand back from his and laughing.

He shrugged, "I would have said yes to anything you asked."

"Okay, do you want to have a threesome with Nate?" she laughed wickedly.

He groaned, "Blair."

They stepped into the elevator and she pushed the button for her floor. "I'm joking," she said, as she backed him into the wall of the elevator and he bent to kiss her. "But if you said yes, I could make some calls."

* * *

An hour later, Dan finally closed his lap top. He wouldn't say he wrote a good essay but he had, in fact, wrote an essay. "Done."

"How was your second mysterious assignment, Humphrey?" Blair asked, raising her eyebrows and putting her book down.

Dan made a face at her as he packed his lap top in his bag and stood up. "You could have left at any time."

"And miss you make your concentration face?" She imitated him, sticking out her tongue slightly and biting it and scrunching up her face.

Dan rolled his eyes, "Is that what I look like? It's a wonder you didn't pounce on me."

"God, Humphrey, if you think you are that irresistible, it's shocking you are still single," Blair said, handing over her bag. "You can carry this for making me wait."

"Wait for what, Blair? I will repeat, you could have left."

Blair ignored him, walking a few steps in front of him. As they left the library, they walked into a dimming sky. "God, Humphrey, next time at least give us some kind of daylight." He caught up with her, adjusting her back on his shoulder. She looped her arm in his, "I have a surprise for you."

Dan raised his eyebrows, "Is it something I'll like?"

"Do you think I would give you something you wouldn't like?"

"Actually," he said, flashing back to the Christmas gift she had given him, book of pictures that he had packed carefully away when they broken up, not quite ready to throw it in the fire, "I remember you being almost too good at surprises."

He watched her profile as her lips pulled upwards. "Ah, well, compared to one Christmas gift it might be a little disappointing." She unlinked their arms as they reached the dorm. "Maybe you should go drop your bag off and then meet me in my room."

Dan's eyebrows raised.

"Humphrey, get your head out of the gutter," she scoffed.

He made quick work of dropping his bag off, but spent a few minutes to freshen up. Even if she said to get his head out of the gutter, he had just spent the entire day in the library and brushing his teeth and throwing on a spritz of cologne certainly couldn't hurt.

Dan took a deep breath as he knocked his knuckles against her door. Blair opened it and behind her, on her desk, sat a bottle of red wine and a grainy picture of Nate. "What is this?"

"The threesome you promised me."

"I didn't-"

* * *

Blair led him to her room, unlocking the door and pulling him in by his shirt. "No one can see," she said and then laughed. "Actually, anyone could see. No one cares here, no one cares that I'm Blair fucking Waldorf."

Dan kissed her, his hands on her hips as he pushed her against her door and locked it. "I care."

"Of course you do," she said, pulling his shirt out of his pants.

Dan kissed down her neck, placing strategic kisses from her shoulder to her collarbone to hear the slight purr Blair made when his lips touched the dip between collarbones. His hands ran down her sides as she moved against him, her arms laying across his shoulders and her fingers touching the back of his head. He rolled his neck against her hands.

"The bed, Humphrey," she said, and he hoisted her from the floor and carried her the foot distance to the small twin bed.

"What did you say," Dan said, kissing her throat again as he pulled her shirt from her jeans, "about this not working? At dinner?"

"It's not nice to gloat, Humphrey," she said, lifting her arms he could remove her shirt.

* * *

Blair shut the door behind him and smirked, taking the cork out of the bottle. "I thought about actually calling Nate, I have a feeling he would have said yes- he does like getting a rise out of you, but thought this would do for now. It would take too long to explain the entire story to him and then I'd have to answer all his questions and-"

"I thought you didn't want to talk about this."

"Who said anything about talking?" Blair said, lifting the bottle to her lips. "Much better than your offering," she teased as she handed him the bottle. "I might have exaggerated before. Perhaps the itch isn't completely scratched. And, honestly, Humphrey, if I let you loose into society so rusty with your skills- well, I consider myself somewhat of a feminist and that would just be a crime against my fellow women."

Dan frowned, trying to follow what she is saying. "So, you want-"

"To have a friendship where we spice it up with maybe a session of break up sex thrown in there every couple of weekends," Blair said, taking the bottle back from him. "I've thought about it. None of these English boys have done anything for me. And, well, it's nice to be with someone who knows me."

"So what you want is a friends with benefit situation?" he asked.

"A what?"

"When you are friends, and there are benefits?"

"Isn't being friends with me the benefit?"

"That's not-"

Blair huffed, "God, Humphrey. I'm from the UES, not Mars. I know what friends with benefits is. I guess, if we need to put such a crude label on it."

"Why," Dan countered, "can't we just talk about what happened and maybe why it happened?"

She put down the bottle, "Because you broke my heart, Humphrey. I'm not willing to do that again, not with you, not right now. It's this or nothing. And by nothing, I mean we never mention this again and you erase it from your memory."

Dan nodded, "Well, who I am to turn down lessons from Blair Waldorf?"

"That's the spirit," she said, lifting up the bottle again. "Should we shake on it?"

"Seems a little formal."

Blair nodded, "Alright, then, see you tomorrow."

"Wait," Dan's head tilted. "What?"

"This was the negotiation phase. You think I'm going to do this mostly sober with no dinner before hand? I spent the day in the library, Humphrey. The entire day. That's not exactly mood setting."

Dan shook his head in disbelief, "A dinner? Before having sex? So a date?"

"A dinner between friends and then that might turn into sex between friends."

"Ah, right," Dan's eyes widened. "Whatever you say, Blair."

She opened the door behind him and gently pushed on his chest to get him to leave. "Goodnight, Humphrey."


	41. Chapter 41

“So, what you are saying is that you and Blair are back together?” Vanessa said, sipping from her bottle. “What an interesting turn of events.” 

“That is, in fact, not what I said. In fact, quite the opposite.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay, Humphrey,” she said, sarcasm ringing loudly through her words.

“Vanessa, we are two adults who are enjoying each other’s company.”

“Is that the company line?” Vanessa rolled her eyes again. “Enjoying each other’s company? Give it up, Humphrey. I can see it in your stupid smile, you are in deep. Let me at least capture it on film this time.” 

The door opened and Jenny appeared, having left to use the bathroom. Dan flailed his hand across his neck, trying to signal to Vanessa to stop with that topic. “What are you guys talking about?” she asked, plopping herself on the end of Dan’s bed.   
Vanessa looked at Dan and ticked her head slightly to the left, “Oh,” she said, exaggerating the word, “nothing. A whole lot of nothing.”

“So, Dan and Blair?” Jenny said, taking a bottle from the box on the ground. Dan went to swat the bottle away from her. “I’m 18 and we’re in England, Dan. I’m legal to drink.”

“Vanessa,” Dan’s tone was sharp, trying to get them to stay off the topic of his love life, “was just telling me about her next film project.”

Jenny audibly scoffed. “Come on, Dan. You have the key to Blair’s room, I know something is up.”

“I have the key,” he countered, “so we aren’t all piled into one room. It was nice of Blair to give us extra space since she’s gone for the holiday. Because we are friends.”

Vanessa laughed loudly. “Friends who fuck.”

“Ew!” Jenny exclaimed, grabbing a pillow from the bed and chucking it at Vanessa, who was seated cross legged on the floor.

Dan’s head fell, “Jesus, Vanessa.”

“Okay, okay, that was too far,” Vanessa giggled, leaning over and hitting Dan’s knee. “My fault. But come on, Dan, from what you’ve told me- you guys go out for dinner, you pay, you come back here where you spend the night in Blair’s room. And then, the next day, you do it all over again. That is dating.”

Jenny smacked Dan on the arm, “You pay for your meals? She is a bajillion times richer than us, Dan. At least let her remind you of that by letting her pay for your dates.”

“Thank you for your financial advice, Jenny, but I saved up money from working this summer and I am doing just fine.”

“Taking out a girl who isn’t your girlfriend,” Vanessa retorted. 

Jenny playfully hit her beer bottle against Dan’s, “Cheers to that.”

“Guys, seriously, I didn’t invite you here so we could talk about me and Blair.”

“Well, I didn’t come here so we didn’t talk about them. Where is she, again, this weekend?” Vanessa asked, her eyebrows raising.

Dan took a long sip of his drink, “France. Her dad and his husband live there. She is celebrating Thanksgiving there.”

“And we weren’t invited?” Jenny asked, her hands over her chest and feigning shock.

“I would say, technically, we were besides Vanessa.”

“Did my invitation get lost in the mail?”

“More like ripped up then put through a shredder then Blair took the pieces and put them back together and then she lit them on fire,” Dan said, smirking at his best friend.

Vanessa fell back on the floor, her hands up as though motioning to a higher power, “God, tell me what I did to this girl to make her hate me!”

Jenny elbowed Dan subtly and answered, “Perhaps it was the time you broadcasted her terrible relationship with Nate for your viewers to revel in? Or maybe it was when she found you sleeping in Dan’s bed? Or, another option, it was the time you and Dan got really drunk and Dan called her name out in the street like a commoner?”

“All good points, little J,” Vanessa snorted. Vanessa shot up, sitting with her back erect and Dan could see a lightbulb going off in her head. “What if we went to France anyways?”

“What? No.” Dan said at the same time that Jenny say, “Yes!”

“No, absolutely not.” 

“Why not? We aren’t going to be feasting on turkey tomorrow, Dan, so why can’t we go see France?” Jenny said, her head turning to look at her brother and her lips forming into a pout. “Even if we don’t see Blair, I want to see France. England is… no offense to you, boring so far.”

Dan shook his head, “You have been here for a couple hours and have only seen my dorm room.”

“Exactly!” Jenny said, clapping her hands together. “If we stay here, it will be a Dan version of a holiday. It will be your favorite spots and boring Dan things. If we go to France, we can all discover it together.”

Vanessa turned her phone towards them so they could see the screen, “Look, the flights are cheap. Dan, come on. We can find a place to stay, Blair doesn’t even need to know we are there if she doesn’t want to. Why don’t you call her, see how opposed she is to the idea- if it’s like a little opposed, we’ll book it. If she is sharpening her daggers, we’ll stay here and do the weekend the Dan Humphrey way.”

Dan closed his eyes and thought about it. “First off, I find it upsetting that my sister and my best friend think I would plan a boring weekend.” They were right, of course, but he didn’t want to admit that. He had, in fact, planned nothing for them in advance. “Second, my friend Amelie’s sister was coming this weekend. I don’t want to blow them off.”

“They can come, too,” Jenny said, as though Dan’s objection was the dumbest thing she had ever heard. 

* * *

“To France,” Vanessa said, leaning into Dan and holding her phone at an angle. “Little J, get in this.”

Jenny hugged Dan from behind, “To France!”

Dan grunted, “This is a bad idea.”

Vanessa turned her phone back to examine the pictures, “It is not. You talked to Blair last night, she even said I could come to dinner.”

“And Amelie even said her sister would much rather come to Paris instead of Brighton,” Jenny said, leaning her forehead against the plane window and looking out at the sky. “We’re going to do Thanksgiving and then go to Paris- God, I’ll actually have European vacation stories to tell my friends.” 

He groaned, “But did she sound like she actually wanted to see us?”

“Who cares,” Vanessa laughed, “she said yes, there is no take backs. Also,” she said, turning to Dan, “I am going to film some of this. Don’t worry,” she said, putting her finger up to stop Dan from talking, “it’s not going to be like before. It’s going to be for my vlog. It’s going to be artsy shots, us drinking, having fun- I promise, it will be set to some royalty free music and totally Blair approved.”

“Vanessa,” Dan said, slinking into his chair. “Please.”

“You won’t even tell I’m filming. I need to start making a portfolio and vlogs are an easy way to show my camera work and editing skills.”

Jenny turned from the window, “Have you watched them, Dan? They’re really good. Can you come and film my life, V? Make me look like cool.”

“Aw, J,” Vanessa said, leaning over Dan to pat Jenny’s leg, “you’re cool to me.”

* * *

Dan covered his eyes as he stepped out of the airport and started to look for a taxi stand. “I think it’s this way,” he said, pointing to where a bunch of travelers were headed. He was already dreading the price of the taxi, his savings were being depleted quickly from the dinners he was treating Blair to. He might have stretched the truth to his sister when he talked about how much he had saved from that summer of working. 

“Um, Dan,” Jenny said, tugging on his shirt sleeve.

“Jen, it’s just over there. I’m sure you can drag your overpacked bag a little more.”

Jenny tugged harder, “No, look.”

Dan turned and followed her finger to a man dressed in all black with a hat. “Yes, I get it. Rich people get private drivers.”

“Dan, read the sign.”

Dan noticed Vanessa holding up her camera to the driver and then to the sign before he took in the words on the sign. His eyes widened, “She didn’t.”

Jenny squealed, “She did!”

Dan walked up to the driver and gulped, “Uh, hey, I think I’m the Brooklyn boy you are looking for.” He scratched his head as he tried not to redden from saying ‘Brooklyn boy’ out loud.

“Mr. Humphrey?” the driver responded, his French accent thick. He turned and opened the car door where Blair sat with a glass of champagne and a smug look on her face. 

“Humphrey,” she said, her tone even, “you didn’t think I would make you cab it all the way, did you?” 

Jenny clapped her hands together and clamored into the car, helping herself to a glass and pouring it too quickly- the bubbles spilling over. “Oops,” she said, wiping her hand against her leggings. “Hi, Blair!”

Dan tried to help with the bags but the driver waved him off and Dan climbed into the car, not exactly a limo but set up with two bench seats facing each other. Jenny had taken the side across from Blair and so he slid next to Blair. “Hey,” he said, his voice catching. “Uh, thanks for this.”

Vanessa’s camera popped into the car before she did, pointing it at Blair. “Blair,” she said, sounding chippier than Dan had ever heard Vanessa sound when talking to Blair. “This is so kind.”

Blair shrugged half heartedly as she slowly brought her glass to her lips. “Champagne, Vanessa?”

“Yes, please,” Vanessa said, taking one last shot with her camera before setting it down between her and Jenny. “And you came all the way to pick us up, that’s so nice. You must really like Dan.” Dan hit his foot against hers. “Ow, Dan.”

Blair tsked, “Ah well, it was the least I could do.” 

The car stayed still and Dan looked around, finally noticing another empty glass. “We’re not the only people you are waiting for?”

“Mmm,” Blair said, her lips pressed together. “About that.”

The door swung open and Nate’s smiling face looked in at them. “Ah, well,” he said, shrugging his bag off. “I’ll sit in the front, no problem!”

“Hi Nate,” Jenny said, her excitement palpable. “Dan didn’t tell us you would be here!” 

“Dan didn’t know,” Dan responded under his breath. 

Blair knocked her shoulder against his, “My dad reached out to the Captain to see if Nate had any holiday plans. He didn’t and so now he does. My dad’s thoughtfulness astounds me daily.”

“Well,” Nate said, casually leaning on the door, “I was going to go to Copenhagen to see Serena but then she got spotted in the streets of Copenhagen. So now she is booked this weekend to do a modeling job. So I called up Mr. Waldorf and asked if there was still room for me at the table and he said-“

“Let me guess,” Dan interrupted, trying to sound cheerful, “he said, ‘there’s always room for you at my table, Nathanial.’”

“Wow, Dan, did you bug my phone? That’s word for word what he said. So now I am here and ready to have an American Thanksgiving in France. Blair, how many pies did you make?”

Blair held up four fingers. “Pumpkin, pecan, apple, and strawberry rhubarb,” she counted them off.

Nate rubbed his stomach, “I can’t wait. Her pies,” he said, turning to Vanessa and Jenny (who was staring at him), “are legendary.” Someone honked their horn behind them. “Ah well, Blair- can you pour me a glass and then I’ll hop in the front and see you guys after the hour drive.”

As the car started to pull off, Dan turned to Blair and blinked.

“You heard the story, Humphrey,” Blair said, tapping her finger against her champagne flute. “I had nothing to do with it.”

“This,” Vanessa said, her hand placed firmly on her camera, “is going to be fun.”


	42. Chapter 42

"This will be you and Jenny's room, Vanessa," Blair said, opening a door to a room with a king sized bed. "And Dan, you'll be where you stayed before. Do you need me to show you where that is again?"

Jenny moved past Dan to drop her bag off in the room and falling on to the bed, her arms outstretched. "Lush," she said, closing her eyes.

"Thanks, Blair," Vanessa said, stepping past both Blair and Dan to revel in the room. "This might be nicer than any hotel I've ever stayed in." Vanessa raised her eyebrows, "What is the catch?"

Blair shrugged, "No catch. You would have gotten your own space if Nate wasn't here. I debated putting you in Dan's room, since I know you like to sleep in his bed-"

Jenny interrupted by loudly laughing from the bed. "She's got you there, Vanessa. At least you are lucky enough to still share with a Humphrey."

Dan watched as Blair's lips twitched, clearly pleased at her ability to make his sister laugh. "Blair," he said, placing his hand on her hip and leaning in slightly. "I told you we got an Air B&B."

She huffed, "Seriously, Humphrey? You think I would make you spend money on an Air B&B around here? One, they are all less than average at best and two, what kind of host do you think I am?"

"You weren't supposed to be the host, we're crashing your Thanksgiving. Vanessa, can you see if we can cancel the reservation?"

"Don't bother," Blair said, sounding exasperated. "I already cancelled it. Dad and Roman know the owner of it, they called him and explained the situation."

"Uh," Dan looked at his sister and Vanessa who both were looking smug. "Thanks, Blair." He shifted his backpack on his shoulder. "Well, I should go put this down- does your dad need help in the kitchen?"

Jenny scoffed, "You can't cook, Dan."

"Thanks for the reminder, Jen," Dan glared at her. "I was going to offer up your help."

"Actually, Humphrey," Blair said, her cheeks reddening. "I can use your help quickly. In my bedroom." Blair turned, walking further down the hall where her room was. Dan stood motionless in the doorway of Jenny and Vanessa's room until Blair beckoned him with her finger, wagging her finger at him. Dan pointed in her direction to the other two and followed her, leaving the two of them mocking him by pretending to make out with their hands.

She closed her bedroom door behind them and sat on the bed cross legged, "I have a confession."

"That you hate me for bringing Vanessa here?"

"God, Humphrey, get over that. She's not my taste of a friend, but you obviously care about her so I am trying."

"That's new," he teased. Blair pouted for a second before he continued, "I mean, you even made a joke back there. That was… something."

Blair pushed out her lips, tapping her finger against her chin. "So, how do I say this?"

"Say what?" Dan said. He played with the straps on his backpack waiting for Blair to make whatever confession that she might have had. "Your dad is going to spear me and serve me for dinner?" he joked.

Blair rolled her eyes. "No… but he does think we are," she bit her bottom lip, pausing before she finished her thought, "dating."

"Oh," Dan chuckled. "Is that all?"

"What? We're not."

"Yes," Dan said, stepping towards her bed, "you've said that many times. Well, if we're not- why does he think that?"

"He just knows that I've spent a good amount of time with you at school and has assumed. It's easier than trying to explain our… situation."

Dan scratched his forehead, standing above her. "Well, is he going to try and get Nate with you in front of me again?"

Blair pressed her hands in to the bed behind and looked up at him, lightly shaking her head. "Oh, no, he is over that. I think he's allowing that ship to sail. He is still very sad that the merger of the Waldorfs and Archibalds won't happen, but he is still hopeful that I will find a suitable match. He's calling this my rebellious era."

"Oh," Dan nodded, thinking he got it now. "So, I should expect a lecture about our break up?"

"No," Blair responded, a piece of hair falling into her face as she again shook her head in response. "I learned from my break ups with Nate, I told my parents only the most sparse of details. He thinks it was quite civil."

"So," Dan said, his head leaning to the side as he tried to put together the bread crumbs that she thought she was leaving out for him. "Why does this matter?"

Blair fell back on her bed, her hair framing her face on the white comforter. "I am just telling you so you know what to expect. And, you know, so you don't have to act like a monk around me."

"Blair, I'm not going to maul you in front of your dad."

"You're making this so impossible, Humphrey," she closed her eyes. "Just act like a boyfriend. That's all I'm trying to say."

Dan leaned over her, kissing her forehead and then the tip of her nose and then her lips. "You know," he said, his teeth brushing her ear as he moved his lips to her neck. "You could just say the word and then it would be true."

"I'm not done punishing you yet, Humphrey."

There was a knock on the door and Dan jumped back, brushing his hands against his legs as the door creeped open.

"Ah, Blair bear," came the familiar voice of Harold, "there you are. We wanted to meet your guests, we have drinks already poured," his head turned and Harold took in Dan on the other side of the room. He gave Dan a once over before turning back to Blair, "You could at least wait until after dinner to sneak Daniel into your room, Blair."

Blair rolled her eyes, standing up and motioning for Dan to follow her. "Daddy, we were just saying hello."

"Daniel," Harold said, following the two of them out of the room. He gripped Dan's shoulders and squeezed, "So nice to see you again."

Dan couldn't see Harold's face as he said it but he assumed that it was twisted somewhat from the lie he was telling. Harold had never liked Dan, had tolerated him slightly at the end of the relationship but he had always made it known that his preference was for Nate. "Mr. Waldorf," Dan said as cheerfully as he could, "thank you so much for welcoming my sister, Vanessa and myself into your home for the holiday at such late notice."

"Blair had mentioned earlier that there was a possibility of you coming."

Dan watched as Blair's hand made a little fist by her side and put this tidbit in his head for later. "Yes, well, we weren't exactly sure of our plans but I'm glad it worked out. It's so nice to be around familiar faces and I've heard so much about Blair's pie making abilities."

Blair grabbed a glass of champagne from the counter as soon as they stepped into the living room, "All very nice, but enough idle chit chat. Dan, can you go get Vanessa and Jenny?"

Dan leaned into her, kissing her temple and taking pleasure in being able to do so in public, before heading back to the side of the house they came from to get the two girls.

Vanessa and Jenny, as he entered their room, had not moved from staring at the ceiling in their shared bed. Jenny had her phone above her, snapping pictures of herself and then looking at the phone to examine the results.

"We thought you'd take longer," Vanessa said wickedly, sitting up to greet him.

"Ew," Jenny replied, making a peace sign in one of her photos. "Can you at least wait until I'm out of earshot to make gross jokes about my brother?"

"Blair's dad has drinks for us."

Vanessa clapped, "I love an early start to the drinking. The sooner people get drunk, the easier it is to get them to tell embarrassing Blair stories. What do you think she was like as a toddler? I bet she was a biter. Can't you imagine it, Jenny?"

"Maybe," Dan said, tapping his hand against the dresser, "you stick to making fun of me while we stay rent free in Blair's dad's house?"

"Good point," Vanessa said. She pushed herself off her bed and on to her feet. "Think I should change?"

"If I had to guess, this is only the start of the day. Leave your good Thanksgiving outfit until later. But," Dan said, closing the door behind him, "Blair's dad thinks we are dating-"

Jenny huffed, "You are."

"We're not," he corrected, pointing at her in rebuke. "Don't say anything that would make him think it's not true."

"Well," Jenny carried on, taking the scolding in stride, "it is true, so there's nothing we can say in the contrary."

Vanessa laughed, taking Jenny by the arm and soaring past Dan to open the door. "Now, where were they?"

* * *

The table was set and Dan was feeling slightly light headed from the afternoon cocktails which had led into drinks by the pool as the sunset which had led to the turkey being left in the oven slightly too long and now to him saying, "This is delicious," to Blair's father.

Harold threw his head back and laughed, pushing his plate away from him. "Oh, Daniel, don't be such a suck up. I already don't like you-" Blair made a sound like she was choking and glared at her dad. "Blair, honey, it's a joke. Right, Daniel? I like him just fine."

"Harold," Roman said, his voice calm but the look on his face was stern.

Harold grunted, "Can no one take a joke anymore? All I was trying to say was that he doesn't need to lie about the turkey. It's dry. I knew I should have hired a caterer."

"It is not exactly the moistest turkey I've ever had," Nate said from the other end of the table. "But," Nate said, taking a long sip of his red wine, "you tried."

Harold laughed again, pointing his fork at Nate. "See, there's the honesty I need."

"Dad, it's fine. It's edible."

"Not like the turkey your mother use to try and make before she got a cook," Harold said, a twinkle in his eye as he launched into the fifth story about Blair's mother that night. Dan had to guess that it was the wine talking but the more stories he told, the less tolerant Blair was getting to them.

Blair glared at Roman who took the hint. "Harold, let's leave Eleanor out of it. I'm sure she, like many Americans, struggled to make a turkey but really, why must you all have the same meal on this day? What about spicing it up?"

"It's tradition," Blair replied. "I love traditions. Like when my dad used to live in the states and we would go see the tree lighting."

"I never did get your love of that," Harold said, his wine splashing over the rim and on to the white tablecloth. "It is such a tourist thing to do and my daughter was more sophisticated than your average New York tourist even at the age of three- but you loved it every year."

Dan grabbed for Blair's hand under the table, "We can go this year, Blair."

"It will already be lit by the time we are home, Humph-," Blair caught herself, "I mean, Dan." Dan gave a small shrug, taking a bite of the dry turkey. "But, maybe we can go when we're back."

"Such a romantic thing to do," Jenny said, sighing as though imagining herself with a boy doing the same but Dan could see the grin on her lips through her acting. "What will you guys do for the holidays? How will you split your time?"

Dan shot her a look, "We haven't discussed that, Jen."

"Brooklyn is so pretty in the winter," Jenny continued, undeterred.

"Are we talking about the Brooklyn that is in New York?" Roman asked, scratching his chin in confusion. "Why would it look any different than Manhattan? You should get the same amount of snow, no?"

"I think," Blair said, excusing herself as she stood up from the table, "it is time for pie."

"Blair bear, we all have our meals still out."

Blair looked around at the mostly untouched food, "You are a lot of things, but a good cook is not one of them. Daniel, assist me."

Dan knew he was about to get in trouble for the antics at the table and he clenched his jaw in anticipation as he followed Blair in to the kitchen. Blair started by setting the pies out and beginning to methodically cut them in to pieces. She pointed at a cabinet wordlessly and Dan opened it, finding plates behind it and placed them in front of her.

"This is a disaster," Blair said.

"It's not that bad," Dan said, trying not to sound defensive. "Jenny is just having a little fun at the situation at hand."

Blair looked up from the first pie, her forehead scrunched. "What? I meant the pies, Humphrey. They don't have a good knife for cutting them, it is barely getting through."

Dan couldn't believe the response he just heard. He pushed again slightly as he started opening up drawers in search of a better pie cutting knife for Blair, "So, you're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm furious," she responded, finally getting the slice from the pie to the plate. "My father is as drunk as a skunk out there. It's so embarrassing. He left my mom for a man, he doesn't need to drag her name from the mud. It wasn't the turkey that made him leave, it's the fact that he's gay."

Dan stopped again, holding the plate that she had handed him. "I meant you're not mad at Jenny. Or at me."

Blair looked up, confused, "Why would I be mad at you two?"

"Jenny and her Christmas comments?"

"God, Humphrey," she said, handing him another plate and pointing to the dining room. "Do you think I am that easy to provoke?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Dan asked, trying to step carefully as to not drop either of the pieces of pie she had given him to serve.

* * *

"Well," Roman said, stepping into the living room, his accent more pronounced than earlier in the evening, "your dad is snoring in the bedroom, Blair. I think he is done embarrassing us for the night." Roman dropped his head into his hands, "I am so sorry for that display. I think he got overly excited in hosting the holiday for you and your friends."

Blair sat, her body curled against Dan on the couch, "He will have to pay for it in the hangover he'll have in the morning."

"Too true, Blair," Roman let out a small chuckle. "Well, if you all are not tired, I can call you a cab or two and you can take them out to the bar, Blair?"

Blair was mid-yawn when Jenny turned around, her eyes wide. "Oh," Blair said, sitting up. Dan noticed how she blinked, her eyes closing and opening rapidly as to try and wake herself up. "That would be great, Roman, thank you."

Jenny kicked her feet out and smiled wide, "Yes! My friends are going to be so jealous when they hear I went to a club in France. Vanessa, can you help me pick out an outfit?"

Vanessa shook her head and pointed to Blair, "I think you have a way more stylish option to choose from, Jen."

Dan watched as Blair's face lit up as she smiled. "Jenny, we can go look in my closet. And, Vanessa, if you want to?"

"I bet I have some things for Dan to wear," Nate said, standing up and stretching.

"Oh no, I'm fine," Dan responded.

Blair looked at him, glanced at what he was wearing. "Maybe you could just see what he has?"

"Come on, man," Nate said, offering Dan his hand and then pulling him to his feet. "Let's go make you the best Upper East Side version of yourself you can be."


	43. Chapter 43

"She's not as bad as I thought," Vanessa said, shouting over the house music blaring out of the speakers. There weren't even that many people at the club that they had gotten dropped off at and the music was still too loud to hold a conversation at a normal decibel.

"Did you think I had no judgement?" Dan shot bad.

Vanessa shrugged, taking a sip from her beer. "I thought maybe your penis was leading. A pretty girl who was using you to get attention. Which-" Vanessa said, pointing the nose of the bottle at him, "I still think she originally was."

"Whatever."

"No," Vanessa said, trying to shake her head but her whole body turning with it. "I just mean- she's kind of cool. And you guys weirdly make sense?"

"We're not-"

"Fuck off, Humphrey." The way Vanessa said Humphrey was in a different league on how Blair wielded it. In Blair's mouth, his last name was a weapon. When she said it, it was to make sure he knew where he stood. When Vanessa said it, it was with the past 18 years of friendship lobbing itself at him. "I wasn't that nice to her when you guys started. I should apologize."

"She's right there," Dan said, pointing at Blair who was spinning Jenny around on the dance floor.

"Not to her," Vanessa replied. She pressed her finger into Dan's chest, "To you. I made it difficult for you. I maybe," she teetered her had back and forth, "encouraged some of your more self sabotaging behavior. I get it now. Seeing you two like this, you make sense. The perennial outsider with the ultimate insider. It shouldn't work but it does."

Dan pulled Vanessa into him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "Thanks, V."

Vanessa pulled back, "I was scared that she would come between us."

"I would never let that happen, Vanessa."

Vanessa lightly punched his shoulder as she waved her beer in front of her. "It's empty. Do you want anything?"

"'I'm good. I'm still riding the drunk from all the wine at dinner."

"Can we call it dinner if none of us ate the food?"

* * *

"Dude," Dan said, pulling Nate back from Jenny on the dance floor. Jenny scowled at Dan and Nate looked confused. He followed Dan back to the bar where you could hear slightly better. "What are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?" Nate said, his hair sticking up wildly. "We're dancing, we're having fun. Lighten up."

"She's my sister."

"So? She was my girlfriend," Nate said as Blair approached them. Dan's jaw fell open and Nate took a step back. "Dude, sorry. That was out of line."

"It was," Dan agreed as Blair approached them.

"What's going on here?" Blair asked, looking between them. There was sweat beads gathering along her forehead, a small sign of all of the dancing that she had been doing. She slipped her hand into Dan's, leaning her face onto his arm. "Dan, come dance with us."

"Dan, I'm sorry," Nate said, looking at the two of them.

Dan took a deep breath out and felt the anger roll off his back. "It's all good. But," he said, looking back to the dance floor where Jenny was still dancing with Vanessa but kept looking over, "I think my sister might have a crush on you. Can you, just, I don't know-"

"Don't hook up with his sister," Blair said, putting it in plain terms. "It's fucked up and gross."

Nate choked on the sip of whiskey he just took. "Dude, I am not trying to hit on your sister. I am attempting a new thing called fidelity, for one, and two- Jenny's still in high school. That's not my thing."

"So, he should start worrying in approximately 8 months?" Blair asked. "Very reassuring, Nate," she said, reaching over and brushing her knuckles against Nate's arm. "That's the way to make Dan not worry."

Nate glared at his former girlfriend, "Blair, you are making things much worse."

"What are you guys talking about?" Jenny said, making her way over with Vanessa sticking to her spot on the dance floor.

"Nothing, Little J," Nate said, jovially throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Let's get back out there. Your brother was just jealous of my skills on the dance floor."

Dan started to follow before Blair tugged at his arm, giving a barely perceptible head shake. "What?"

"They're having fun, Humphrey. Why aren't you having fun?" she pouted. "I'm drunk, I want to dance."

Dan pointed to where Jenny and Nate, who was keeping a respectable distance from Jenny, were flailing around to the electro-pop song blaring. "I was just about to go to the dance floor. You stopped me."

"You were about to go chaperone."

"I was going to dance-erone," Dan countered, cringing as the portmanteau slipped from his mouth. "Sorry, that was bad."

Blair rolled her eyes, "Come on. We're going to take shots. And then we," she said, motioning between the two of them, "are going to go out there and you are going to dance." She let go of his hand and confidently strutted to the bar, the crowd that had gathered since they arrived seeming to part for her like the Red Sea.

When Dan caught up to her, which was trickier than expected as the crowd swallowed him up again as soon as Blair had passed, heir parting only lasting long enough for the Queen of the Upper East Side, Blair already had two shots in her hands.

"To having fun," Blair said, handing him one and hitting her glass lightly against his.

"To Blair Waldorf, hostess extraordinaire," Dan said. He tipped his head back and let the liquid coat his throat. When he swallowed, he coughed. "What was that?"

Blair shrugged, "Nothing that bad, Humphrey."

Dan leaned into her, his hand resting on her lower back, "When do we go back to calling me Dan?"

Blair grinned, "I knew it bothered you." She leaned over the bar, putting up two fingers.

"No," Dan said, "no more shots."

"One more round!"

"Blair, last time we were in France- Nate had to be called to come drag me home."

"Luckily," Blair said as the shots appeared in front of them, "he's already here. She picked up her shot and stared at him until he did the same. She smiled triumphantly, lifting the small glass up. "To Nate Archibald, carrier of drunk Dan."

"To Nate Archibald and his attempt at fidelity."

Blair laughed before they both downed the shots. "Okay," Blair said, pulling at his arm. "Let's go dance."

"Wait," Dan said, resisting the pull. "What did you mean before?"

"Carrier of drunk Dan?"

'No, you said you knew calling me Humphrey bothered me."

Blair's lips turned up into a smile, stepping towards him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him, her doe eyes making her look innocent even as she smirked at him. "You scrunch up your face every time I say it." She closed her eyes, her face scrunching in what Dan believed was an attempt to recreate his own face. "It's so cute. I don't even think you know you do it."

"So, you do it to torture me? Into physically cringing?"

"Dramatic much?" Blair said. "I do it because I want to and as an added bonus, you react in what I deem to be an adorable manner. Like a hurt puppy." She leaned up and kissed him, "Dance with me, Dan."

* * *

Dan felt a hand tap on his shoulder and he turned, seeing Vanessa standing behind him with a tall, blonde man. "Who is this?"

"Gabriel, Dan. Dan, Gabriel. Can I talk to Blair?"

"You want to talk to Blair?" Blair was spinning Jenny under her arm as the two girls laughed, Nate having disappeared to take a phone call a little while ago. Dan was confused but nevertheless reached out to tap Blair.

Blair looked annoyed, dropping her arm. "We're busy, Humphrey."

"Vanessa wants to talk to you?"

"Vanessa?" Blair peered around Dan, frowning for a second before shrugging and walking over.

"You said you spoke French, right?" Vanessa said, moving closer to Blair but due to the music's volume, was still shouting at a volume Dan could overhear.

"Oui," Blair nodded.

Jenny tugged on Dan's sleeve, "What's happening?"

Dan put his finger up to his lips, "Shh, I think they're getting along."

"A Thanksgiving miracle," Jenny said, standing next to her brother to eavesdrop.

"He doesn't speak English very well," Vanessa shouted, pointing to Gabriel. "Can you translate?"

Blair looked amused but nodded.

A conversation began to happen slowly between the three of them, huddling together so they could make out what each other was saying. Dan could only hear a few words but it didn't take much to figure out the intent of the conversation. Blair emerged from the huddle looking victorious as Gabriel and Vanessa linked hands. Vanessa leaned over to Dan and Jenny, "See you tomorrow, Humphreys. Jenny, enjoy the plush bed."

Jenny's mouth was agape as Vanessa and Gabriel left side by side, leaning into each other.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Dan asked Blair.

"You are such a judger, Humphrey," Blair scoffed.

"I wasn't judging, I was asking your judgement of his character."

"He seemed nice. I got his address so if Vanessa doesn't appear at the breakfast table promptly by 10, we know where to go."

"What'd I miss?" Nate said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Vanessa met a hot Frenchman and has gone away to get ravaged," Blair stated, a devilish twinkle in her eye.

Nate nodded his approval, "That's what I like to hear. France is paying off for some of us. Are you guys ready to go? I called a car when I was outside."

"I am," Jenny said, before he could finish. She yawned theatrically and shot a look to Dan, threatening with her eyes if he came with them.

Dan ignored the threat, both to keep an eye on his sister and because his ears was ringing, and nodded and pointed to the door.

As the four of them walked out of the club, Blair fell into step with Dan. "Did you have fun?"

"I had a great time," Dan said, still having to shout.

"Vanessa is… not that bad," Blair said. "I'm not about to make us friendship bracelets but I might remove her page from my burn book."

Dan chuckled.

Nate pushed the door open, and looked for the car he called, comparing the license plates of the cars lined up to the one on his app. Jenny went to help him look.

Blair pressed herself against Dan, her arms wrapping around him as she rested her cheek against his chest. "I'm happy you came, Humphrey. I'm happy I got to spend time with you, and Jenny, and Vanessa."

"I'm happy I came as well. I can't wait to get you and Vanessa gift cards to get matching tattoos in Brooklyn when we're back."

Blair looked up at him, "I would never. But… I do want to say that I'm drunk."

"Obviously."

"Shut up," she joked, leaning up to kiss his chin. "I'm drunk and I want you and I think," her voice ticking upwards in pitch as she finished out her sentence, "I love you."

"You think?" Dan said, squinting down at her. "I know I love you, Blair."

Blair closed her eyes and smiled up at him, looking pleased. "Don't break up with me again, Dan."

"You can't break up with someone you aren't dating," he teased.

"Mmm about that."

"Yes?"

They were interrupted by Jenny yelling out for Dan that the car was here. The four of them squeezing into the backseat, Blair resting on Dan's lap with her face nuzzled into his neck. Dan spent the car ride back to Blair's father's house with a stupid grin on his face, rubbing Blair's back aimlessly.

"Smile," Jenny said, holding up her phone to get a selfie with Dan and Blair. She turned from them, without looking at the result, and pointed the phone at her and Nate. "Nate?" Dan didn't have to watch, but knew that Nate would gamely smile for the photos. He reminded himself to have a chat with Jenny tomorrow about Nate, but he decided that that was a tomorrow worry.

For tonight, he was going to let himself be happy that he was here, with Blair, and in love.


End file.
